TC Martin

Raiders Approach Opener with Confidence​​

The NFL season is back and expectations are high for all teams as season openers have every team at 0-0.  

Most prognosticators don’t think the Las Vegas Raiders will do much this season as the season win total is only at 6.5.  Although over bettors may cash tickets with a 7-10 season, Raiders executives, coaches, players and fans won’t be too excited about that. 

The Silver and Black open the 2024 regular season in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium against the Chargers which is a very winnable game as both teams have question marks and recent history has favored the Raiders in this matchup.  Just go back to the 63-21 shellacking last December.

There's a lot that's new for both teams since their last meeting in 2023. The Chargers hired Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, who last coached in the NFL from 2011-14 where he led the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII and never had a losing record. Per NFL Research, Harbaugh won four consecutive Week 1 games with the 49ers, the longest current streak among active head coaches.

Los Angeles also has a re-vamped offense with new, albeit young, weapons for QB Justin Herbert, going from the likes of WR Mike Williams (now with Jets), WR Keenan Allen (now with Chicago) and RB Austin Ekeler (now with Washington) to WR Ladd McConkey (2024 second-round pick), WR Quentin Johnston (2023 first-round pick) and RBs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards (free agent acquisitions).

For Las Vegas, there's a new quarterback under center in Gardner Minshew.  In 37 games starts over his five-year career, Minshew has a passer rating of 89.3, throwing for 8,966 yards and 54 touchdowns. The team is also operating in a new offensive scheme under coordinator Luke Getsy. Getsy joined the Raiders after two seasons with the Bears where, in 2023, he led an offense that ranked second in the NFL in rushing attempts (534), rushing yards (2,399) and rushing yards per game (141.1).

In the 2023 regular season, the Raiders offense ranked 27th in the league in total offense (289.5 yards per game), 23rd in passing (198.8 ypg), 30th in rushing (90.7 ypg) and 23rd in points (19.5 ppg). Defensively, the Raiders ranked 15th in total defense (330.9 ypg), 12th in passing (212.4 ypg), 21st in rushing (118.5 ypg) and ninth in points allowed (19.5 ppg).

The Chargers offense ranked 18th in the league in total offense (329.4 yards per game), 13th in passing (232.8 ypg), 25th in rushing (96.6 ypg) and 21st in points (20.4 ppg). Defensively, the Chargers ranked 28th in total defense (362.9 ypg), 30th in passing (249.8 ypg), tied for 17th in rushing (113.2 ypg) and 24th in points allowed (23.4 ppg).

After Sunday’s opener some questions will be answered but this is a long season and only time will tell how the season plays out and if the Raiders can exceed  expectations.