The Raiders are sitting pretty at 1-0, but don’t let that fool you. Kirk Cousins already tossed two picks against a ‘widely regarded as extremely weak’ Dolphins defense in Week 1, and now they’re heading into a Sunday matchup against the Chargers without star tight end Brock Bowers. Seriously, how lucky can one team get with their early schedule? This isn’t just another game for the Chargers, it’s a golden ticket to kickstart their season after a tough opening loss against the Cardinals.
Chargers’ New Groove Still Needs Polishing
Look, the Chargers are dealing with some real growing pains right now, and anyone who watched Week 1 saw it. New coordinators Mike McDaniel on offense and Chris O’Leary on defense are trying to get their systems installed, and it’s not clicking perfectly yet. McDaniel’s offense looked phenomenal on that first drive of the season, sure, but then it totally stalled out once they fell behind the sticks and Ladd McConkey had to exit the game. Jim Harbaugh even admitted he regretted not playing the starters much in preseason, and McDaniel’s scheme is notoriously complicated, so it’s gonna take time. For O’Leary’s defense, the concern is a bit deeper, since his scheme is similar to Jesse Minter’s. But hey, O’Leary’s Western Michigan defense back in 2025 also struggled for the first few weeks before they rounded into form and went 10-1 over their final 11 games. One more week of practice and actual game tape? That’s gotta help them smooth out the issues from Week 1, right?
Raiders’ Offense? More Like Offense-NOT
This is where it gets spicy. The Raiders are almost certainly without star tight end Brock Bowers. The dude had meniscus trim surgery before Week 1 and hasn’t practiced a single snap this week. Head coach Klint Kubiak is “hoping” he returns soon, but let’s be real, the Chargers aren’t losing any sleep over that. Yeah, LA struggled with Cardinals tight end Trey McBride last week, but Raiders tight end Michael Mayer only caught 6 passes for a measly 32 yards against Miami. Bowers’ absence just absolutely tanks the Las Vegas offense’s ceiling, letting the Chargers put way more resources into defending running back Ashton Jeanty. And then there’s Kirk Cousins. Two interceptions against the Dolphins? That’s just wild, especially when Miami has the youngest defense in the league and is ‘widely regarded as an extremely weak unit.’ Cousins isn’t exactly mobile, so if the Chargers’ pass rush can somehow bounce back from their measly 12 pressures against the Cardinals, they could get a few more splash plays from the defense and turn this whole thing around.
Those O-Line Anchors Are Locked In
For all the chatter about the Chargers’ interior offensive line, there’s a huge sigh of relief about the bookends. Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt came back healthy in Week 1, and they looked exactly like the ‘All-Pro-caliber players’ everyone believes them to be. Alt was absolutely perfect in pass protection, letting up zero pressures on 39 pass-blocking snaps. Slater was only credited with two pressures in 39 snaps himself. Having those two in ‘midseason form’ right now is going to be HUGE this Sunday, especially with Maxx Crosby on the other side of the ball. This gives the Chargers a critical anchor point on the offensive line that they desperately needed after both players were injured last season.
This Sunday is massive. The Chargers NEED to get things clicking, especially with those new schemes. If they can turn those Raiders turnovers into real opportunities and shut down their struggling offense, this could be the bounce-back game everyone’s been waiting for. Can’t wait to see if Alt and Slater can keep that pocket clean against Maxx Crosby and give them a chance to pull out that W!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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