Man, what a trainwreck. Joe Alt had a day he’ll want to scrub from his memory, and honestly, the entire Chargers squad is probably feeling the same after getting absolutely shelled 26-14 by the Raiders. Vegas, on the other hand, is sitting pretty at 2-0. Talk about a statement! That’s a start they haven’t pulled off since way back in 2021, which, let’s be real, feels like ancient history in this league and shows just how much this win means to them.
Cousins Carries Raiders to an Unexpected 2-0
Alright, “You like that?” Raiders fans are probably screaming Kirk Cousins’ unofficial slogan all over town tonight, and for at least the next week! The dude showed up, big time, tossing three touchdowns that absolutely powered Las Vegas to that 26-14 victory. But it wasn’t just him, either. The Raiders played some seriously solid defense against Los Angeles, pulling off timely takeaways right when they needed them most. Remember Omarion Hampton’s “game-changing fumble” in the fourth quarter? Chargers were only down by three points when he coughed up the ball on a run up the middle. Boom, a couple of plays later, Cousins connects for his third TD pass, and suddenly Vegas is up by 10 with less than three minutes left on the clock. That’s how you close out a game, folks! This 2-0 start is HUGE for them, a real marker that they’re coming out swinging this season.
Herbert’s Horrors and Alt’s Absolute Disaster
But let’s be brutally honest here, this game was less about the Raiders’ shining moments and more about the Chargers’ epic, painful implosion. Justin Herbert? Oof. He finished a pretty rough 15-of-27 for a measly 192 yards, one touchdown, and two absolutely brutal interceptions. Not exactly a superstar performance. He also accounted for three of the Chargers’ six fumbles on the day, though they somehow, thankfully, didn’t lose possession on any of *those* specific ones. Seriously, they dodged a few bullets there.
But the real MVP of Chargers’ heartbreak has to be Joe Alt. What on earth happened out there? The guy got flagged for three false start penalties *at home*. Like, come on, that’s just unacceptable. And then, to cap off his truly dreadful day, he commits a holding penalty in the end zone after Herbert’s second interception, giving the Raiders a safety to close out the scoring. It was a complete disaster class from Alt, truly a day he’ll want to forget forever. That kind of self-destruction against an early season opponent? Rough.
So, the Raiders are riding high at 2-0, a start they absolutely earned, but also one heavily aided by the Chargers’ unbelievable blunders. Meanwhile, the Chargers have got to hit the film room hard and figure out what in the world went wrong. Penalties, turnovers, and crucial mistakes were the name of the game for them. It’s early in the season, yeah, but these kind of games stick with you.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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