Old rivals renew acquaintances when Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers travel to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders and new coach Pete Carroll on Monday night to close out Week 2 of the NFL slate.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert outplayed Patrick Mahomes in the opener by passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He also made the clinching play when he scrambled for 19 yards on third-and-14 just before the two-minute warning.
“Justin is one hell of a football player,” Chargers tight end Tyler Conklin told reporters. “Just all-around, everything he can do … I can’t say I ever played with someone that can just control a game like that with his feet and with his arm.”
Acquired in the offseason from the Seahawks, where he earned Pro Bowl honors in 2022-23 while playing for Carroll, Raiders quarterback Geno Smith passed for 362 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Week 1’s 20-13 road win over the New England Patriots.
“That’s how we want to play football,” Smith said of the aerial attack. “We want to make sure that we make the right reads. I want to make sure that I’m making the right decisions and getting the ball into the hands of the playmakers. We got a lot of great players, and that’s something we can take advantage of.”
ODDS AND TRENDS
The Chargers are consensus 3.5-point favorites. That includes BetRivers, where their odds have shifted to -108 by Monday evening with the public backing Los Angeles with 93 percent of the spread-line money.
The favorite has covered the spread in each of the past six meetings between these two teams.
The Chargers -195 moneyline had also been extremely popular, drawing 91 percent of the money and 89 percent of the total bets while the Raiders’ ML was being offered at +160.
PROP PICKS
–Over 46.5 Total Points (-115 at BetRivers): Each of the Chargers’ past six games have gone over the total points line.
–Herbert 250+ Passing Yards (-131 at DraftKings): Harbaugh’s teams are known for their stingy defense and run-heavy offensive game plans. So it surprised everyone, including the Chiefs, when Herbert came out slinging the ball in Week 1. He completed 25 passes for 318 yards and a trio of touchdowns — Herbert’s fourth consecutive regular-season game with at least 281 passing yards.
KEY STAT
Herbert has thrown an interception in just one of his past 13 regular-season games against AFC opponents.
INJURY REPORT
Raiders All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers left the team’s Week 1 victory with a knee injury.
“I’m not sure. We’ll see,” Bowers said Thursday on whether he can play. “We’ll see how it’s feeling throughout the week, but I’m hoping to play.”
Bowers didn’t practice Thursday and Friday and was limited Saturday. He is listed as questionable. Linebacker Elandon Roberts (elbow) also missed practice Thursday for the Raiders, was limited on Friday and was a full participant on Saturday. Offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson (concussion) has been ruled out.
For the Chargers, linebacker Denzel Perryman (ankle) was ruled out after missing practice all week. Linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips (toe) is questionable after missing practice Thursday and being limited Friday and Saturday. Cornerback Elijah Molden (hamstring) was ruled out, and cornerback Tarheeb Still (calf) was limited Thursday but a full participant Friday and Saturday.
SERIES HISTORY
The Chargers won both meetings last season for their first sweep of the Raiders since 2018.
THEY SAID IT
The friction between the coaches was at its worst when Carroll coached at Southern California and Harbaugh was reviving the Stanford program. The coaches met three times with Harbaugh winning twice.
The visiting Cardinal shocked the top-ranked Trojans — who were favored by 41 points — in 2007 before USC won the next season at Stanford. Then, in 2009, Harbaugh never took his foot off the pedal as the Cardinal routed USC 55-21 in Los Angeles.
Afterward, the two men had a very frosty postgame handshake with Carroll famously asking Harbaugh, “What’s your deal?”
Carroll exacted some revenge in the NFL when his Seattle Seahawks beat Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers 23-17 in the 2013 season’s NFC Championship Game.
“I remember Jim. I have no fond memories,” Carroll said Thursday. “… There have been great games.”
Harbaugh is well aware of the storyline.
“That’s expected and pretty well documented,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a great coach, one of the best. A lot of respect. I always thought if I had ever played for him or on one of his teams, I bet we would have been really good friends.”
PREDICTION
The Raiders appear to be markedly improved from last season, but they’re still a year behind the Chargers in the quest to be a legitimate contender in the AFC. Smith is prone to an ill-timed interception and has too often forced balls into coverage in the red zone in recent years, while the Chargers are showing an offense capable of moving the ball steadily on the ground or through the air. –Chargers 27, Raiders 20
