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- Week 2: Chargers @ Raiders
🏈 2025 NFL Record: 4-2 (+1.80x)
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Other write-ups for this week can be viewed on the website here.
Los Angeles Chargers -3 (-120)
Available at FD, CRIS, PIN -19, WAR
The Chargers are a wagon. I don’t see much of a weakness here.
The expectation entering the season was a team that would bully teams through the run game, yet, in Week 1 Herbert attempted 34 passes for a 131 rating. Guys wide open.
Herbert’s xCOMP was 70.4% and his IAY was 9.4, incredibly both 6th highest of the week - in a victory. Big plays downfield, to open wide receivers..often. That’s a scary thought for the league.
Harbaugh took on a different light in pressers this week encouraging this type of play, and building up a guy like Johnston who appears to have overcome his drops. The chemistry with Allen is back too. This offense is damn good, and will certainly have success running against the Raiders if Elandon Roberts misses. Roberts graded out 91 against the run last season and Pete Caroll called him the “most underrated signing of the season” as he was set to be crucial in the middle of this defense. We might see things open up even more here than they did in Week 1.
Defensively the Chargers appear to have filled their biggest weakness which was stopping the run by adding help in the offseason. Outside of Mahomes scrambles, the Chiefs ran for just 41 yards total. The Raiders had no ground game - 2.3 per carry on 24 attempts - against the Patriots new defense and should struggle again on Monday. This is going to look a lot worse for Geno Smith if he has to drop back 34 times again like he did in Week 1, especially if Brock Bowers - his top target - is out. The Chargers already defend tight ends well, but this is a much more difficult defense to throw against than the Patriots who played without their top corner Christian Gonzalez.
De-facto “neutral field” game for LA here. More than happy to lay the number.
