LAS VEGAS—Over 62,500 fans were on hand to witness Monday night‘s AFC West battle between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers. The crowd was buzzing well before kickoff.
With Head Coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Spytek in place, there is a sense of hope for the franchise. You could feel this as soon as you walked through the doors of Allegiant Stadium.
The excitement carried over into the game, with crowd noise reaching a peak of 107 dB during the Monday Night Football showdown.
“I thought the crowd was excellent. I thought that was a fantastic crowd, and they were a factor,” Carroll said. “It felt like a real home game with an advantage.”
Offensive Struggles
The Raiders had a rough start. On the very first play from scrimmage, quarterback Geno Smith threw a pass into a tight window and was intercepted by Daiyan Henley off a deflection.
The quick turnover ultimately proved to be a sign of things to come. Smith finished the night 24 of 43 passing for 180 yards and three interceptions. Geno Smith completed 55.8% of his passes—his lowest completion percentage since 2023.
The Raiders’ signal caller had trouble with the Los Angeles Chargers’ zone defense. Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter is known to run a two-high shell zone coverage scheme, and the Raiders offense saw plenty of it on Monday night.
In 48 dropbacks, the Chargers deployed a zone coverage 83% of the time, per Fantasy Points Data.
“They’re a 90% zone team. I think they probably did that today,” Geno Smith said. “They stuck to what they do. They play their stuff. They play it well. They communicate. They get out there, they fly around. Hats off to those guys for playing a tremendous game.”
Rushing Attack Is a Work in Progress
The Raiders’ running game struggled again in Week 2. The team only recorded 68 yards on the ground. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty accounted for 43 yards of those yards on eleven carries (3.9 YPC).
“We’re going to have to run the football better than we did, more effectively. We have to get more yards. We had 50-60 yards or something rushing. That’s not enough. We got to get more than that.” Pete Carroll said postgame.
The Raiders gained only 218 yards on offense and were unable to score a touchdown against the Chargers. The offensive side of the ball will need to find answers quickly, as the team will travel back to the East Coast to take on the Washington Commanders in Week 3.
Herbert Shines
Quarterback Justin Herbert was on fire in the first half, completing 9 of 14 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Towards the end of the first quarter, the Chargers engineered an 8-play, 72-yard drive capped off with a 10-yard touchdown pass to 13-year veteran WR Keenan Allen.
With 2:00 minutes remaining in the half, Justin Herbert connected on a post-corner route to WR Quentin Johnston for a 60-yard score.
The Raiders played a Cover 3 zone, and cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly blew his coverage assignment. Kyu Blu Kelly was responsible for the deep 1/3 on his side of the field, but his eyes were looking underneath with Ladd McConkey coming across the field on a crossing route. The blown coverage allowed Johnston to be wide open.
Herbert had a league-leading 121.3 passer rating against Cover 3 a season ago and continued his success in Week 2.
Pete Carroll Impressed with Defense
In the second half, the Raiders’ defense bent but didn’t break. The unit only allowed three points the rest of the way, showcasing their resiliency for the second consecutive week.
“Really like what’s going on with the defense,” Carroll said. “A couple of second halves here just terrific D and we’re going to need that to play together.”
–Follow Dan Loya on X @DLoya_NFL
