The Denver Broncos ground out a narrow 10-7 win over the Las Vegas Raiders to maintain the best record in the NFL.
In a tight game, just three points scored in the whole second half but they were vital as Wil Lutz scored a 32-yard field goal to send the Broncos to an 8-2 record.
They had more penalties than first downs in a stop-start game at Mile High Stadium but are top of the AFC West after a seventh straight win.
Coach Sean Payton said his team can refine their style as they look to keep on winning games.
“We’ve got to clean up some of the penalties. We’ve got to clean up the execution and that is an ongoing thing that probably never ends,” he said.
There’s no guarantee the Chargers will pass through the gate of golden opportunity, but this 2-0 team has sawed the lock off the latch.
With Sunday’s home opener against Denver, the Chargers have the chance to go 3-0 in the AFC West with a week to go in September. That’s unheard of. The last time this franchise opened the season with three consecutive division games was 1988, and those Chargers stumbled to a 1-2 start.
These Chargers could be 3-0 for the first time since 2002 and are heading into a softer part of their schedule.
But how did it happen? Why did the NFL set up the Chargers schedule to go Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos when that kind of rollout is so rare?
Let’s rewind the tape.
Why did the Kansas City game wind up in Brazil?
The league had the Chargers hosting a game in São Paulo, and because of the distance, it only made sense to make it an opener. (Just as the Rams will open next season in Australia.) The team can “protect” two home games and the league won’t touch those, so the Chargers chose Washington and Minnesota. Pittsburgh couldn’t go to Brazil, because the Steelers already have an international game in Dublin, and it couldn’t be Philadelphia, either, because the Eagles opened in Brazil last season.
The NFL wanted to follow up that Packers-Eagles matchup with something similarly spectacular, so they needed the biggest opponent to pair with the Chargers, especially with this being the first YouTube game. No one has more sizzle these days than Kansas City.
From the Chargers standpoint, they got the Chiefs on a neutral field — SoFi Stadium is pretty much a neutral field anyway — and they were making their biggest division rival fly 12-plus hours to and from. Not an ideal way for anyone to start the season.
Jim Harbaugh’s team played a tremendous game, beating the Chiefs for the first time since 2021 and putting a spotlight on quarterback Justin Herbert, who was phenomenal. Not only that, but they handed Kansas City an unimaginably long flight home to prepare for a Super Bowl rematch with Philadelphia, which they lost.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert fist bumps coach Jim Harbaugh before a win over the Raiders on Sept. 15.
(Ian Maule / Getty Images)
Objective 1: Check.
The NFL would rather not have a team make a long flight back from an international game only the hit the road again the following week, but that’s what the Chargers had to do. There was a Chris Brown concert at SoFi Stadium on the Sunday of Week 2, so it worked out better to have the Chargers back on the road.
The fairest solution was to give the Chargers their shortest road trip, to Las Vegas, plus give them an extra day to prepare by making it the second half of a Monday night doubleheader. Allegiant Stadium, home of the Raiders, was in use that weekend for the Terence Crawford-Canelo Álvarez fight.
Again, Harbaugh had his team prepared and the Chargers assembled a defensive masterpiece against the Raiders, breaking up 15 passes and putting Geno Smith under near-constant pressure.
Objective 2: Check.
Now comes Denver, a club a lot of people see as one of the league’s surprise teams. There’s an interesting connection between Harbaugh and Broncos coach Sean Payton, and not just that they were born six days apart. Harbaugh, a star quarterback at Michigan, was a first-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 1987, a year when NFL players went on strike. Chicago’s replacement team was nicknamed the “Spare Bears” and Payton was the quarterback of that fill-in squad.
It was more random that the Broncos wound up being the opponent in Week 3, except that the league wanted to put the Chargers’ games against Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in prime time. So that limited the choices.
Nobody at The Bolt is complaining now. What looked to be a treacherous start could be a turbo boost for a franchise heading into a stretch that includes the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans, who are combined 0-6. Anything can happen and fortunes of franchises can flip in an instant — oft-struggling Indianapolis is 2-0, for instance, and has yet to punt once — so looking too far in the future is foolish. But that’s what networks have to do, and there’s a lot of buzz right now that the Chargers are going to be a team to watch as we get deeper into the season.
That fits Harbaugh’s profile, too, because his teams have a history of improving in his second season.
With the new Nielsen methodology, which takes a far more comprehensive sampling of what Americans are watching, it’s increasingly important for the NFL to do well in big markets. The league has to be delighted, then, that both the Chargers and 2-0 Rams are playing so well. The only other season when both franchises were 2-0 at the same time was 2001, when the St. Louis Rams made it to the Super Bowl before losing to a young quarterback named Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Both the Rams and Chargers have outstanding quarterbacks, and interestingly, Matthew Stafford went 12 seasons in Detroit before finally winning a playoff game, in his first season with the Rams. Herbert, in his sixth season, has yet to win a playoff game.
Both teams have top-notch defenses.
It’s absurdly early to make end-of-season predictions but this much is set: SoFi Stadium will play host to its second Super Bowl next season.
Is a colossal turf war in the cards?
With that in mind, maybe the Chargers and Rams are peaking too early. They certainly hope so.
Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly told reporters Thursday that he does not game plan with team minority owner and Fox NFL broadcaster Tom Brady — at least not “on a weekly basis” — despite a report during “Monday Night Football” this week that suggested otherwise.
During the first quarter of the Chargers-Raiders game at Allegiant Stadium, ESPN’s Peter Schrager reported from the sideline that “Chip Kelly told us that he talks to Brady two to three times a week. They go through film. They go through the game plan.”
After the game, Raiders coach Pete Carroll called the report “not accurate” and said that while he and Kelly speak with Brady “regularly,” those conversations are “about life and football and whatever.”
Kelly was asked about the ESPN report during media availability Thursday. His response echoed Carroll’s.
“I’ve spent a lot of time just talking football with [Brady], but it’s not on a — we don’t talk about game plans,” the former UCLA coach said. “We spent a lot of time over the summer, a couple Zooms … and we would just talk ball, you know, ‘What did you like against this?’ So really, when I use Tom, and I just use him as a resource of, ‘Hey, you know, when you faced a Mike Zimmer-type defense, what did you like protection-wise and play-wise?’
“But on a weekly basis, he’s not game planning with us or talking to us.”
Kelly later added: “In terms of weekly game plans, like, that’s not a collaboration that we do. I mean, he’s also a busy guy, so I haven’t even thought of using him to do that, and I don’t think you can, so — you know, our staff does all that.
“But he’s been a guy that I could talk football with, just shooting it about, ‘Hey, have you ever faced a two-trap defense?’ and, ‘With the inverted, Tampa two that everybody’s running now, what was your best thoughts about that?,’ things like that. But we don’t talk game plan at all or any of that stuff in terms of on a weekly basis.”
The Times reached out to ESPN for comments from Schrager or the network on the matter. A network representative declined to comment.
During Schrager’s report, “Monday Night Football” showed a live shot of Brady sitting in the Raiders coaches’ booth and wearing a headset. Kelly told reporters Thursday that he thinks Brady did the same thing during the Raiders’ preseason game last month against the San Francisco 49ers, also at Allegiant Stadium.
“But he doesn’t talk to the coaches when he’s up there,” Kelly said. “I think he just — he’s watching football.”
NFL chief spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a statement Tuesday that Brady was doing nothing wrong.
“There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game,” McCarthy said. “Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner.”
Brady faces a number of NFL-imposed restrictions on what he’s allowed to do as a broadcaster given his dual status as a team minority owner. Last season, Brady’s first in both roles, he was prohibited from attending the weekly production meetings during which the Fox crew meets with coaches and players ahead of that week’s game.
“Tom continues to be prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings,” McCarthy said in his statement. “He may attend production meetings remotely but may not attend in person at the team facility or hotel. He may also conduct an interview off site with a player like he did last year a couple times, including for the Super Bowl.
“Of course, as with any production meeting with broadcast teams, it’s up to the club, coach or players to determine what they say in those sessions.”
When Khalil Mack suffered a left elbow injury after colliding with a teammate while tackling the Raiders’ Geno Smith, the concern wasn’t whether he’d miss time, but how much.
Fortunately for the Chargers, the diagnosis was a dislocated elbow, sidelining him four weeks on injured reserve — far better than the season-ending outcome many had feared.
“He’s like Wolverine,” coach Jim Harbaugh said, invoking the regenerating “X-Men” character. “One of the toughest things I’ve ever seen. He wasn’t going to sit or lay down on the field. … A new level of respect.”
Mack has been remarkably durable in his Chargers tenure, starting 52 of 53 games.
Last season, however, he played through a groin injury, never at full strength. The timing of this setback is especially frustrating, given that the team had held him out of the preseason to preserve him for the regular season.
Losing Mack is a significant blow heading into the team’s third AFC West matchup in three weeks. His impact was evident before leaving Monday’s game, when he disrupted the Raiders’ offense early, including a key third-down sack.
While Mack’s absence is challenging, the defense appears to be in steady hands. It has already proved it can uphold last year’s standard when it finished as the league’s No. 1 scoring defense unit by limiting opponents to 15 points per game through two weeks.
The edge rusher group will take on elevated roles in Mack’s absence.
Tuli Tuipulotu, viewed by the organization as a future star, will anchor the unit alongside veteran Bud Dupree.
Caleb Murphy, primarily a special teamer, logged a career-high 34 snaps against the Raiders and is expected to have a more defined role. Rookie fourth-round pick Kyle Kennard, still on the practice squad, is also in line for a promotion to give the team a fourth option.
Harbaugh didn’t rule out the front office seeking outside help via trade or free agency, saying, “We’ll look. We’re always looking, and see what the coming days bring.”
Fresh off a toppling of Kansas City, the Chargers make their second stop on their whirlwind tour of the AFC West to face another familiar foe.
It’s Jim Harbaugh versus Pete Carroll, a coaching rivalry that began when Harbaugh was at Stanford and Carroll was at USC, and continued with Harbaugh at the San Francisco 49ers and Carroll at the Seattle Seahawks.
“You’d be friends,” Harbaugh said. “You’d be almost like brothers if it wasn’t for being on opposite sidelines. It’s the kind of guy you’d send a Christmas card to, but you don’t, because you’re too busy trying to scratch each other’s eyeballs out. Nature of the business. Dog-eat-dog.”
Like the Chargers, the Raiders opened with a win on the road, a 20-13 victory at New England.
The Las Vegas defense clamped down in that one, allowing the Patriots just 60 yards on the ground and a four-of-14 performance on third downs.
Geno Smith threw for 362 yards in his Raiders debut, and rookie Ashton Jeanty ran for his first NFL touchdown.
Tight end Brock Bowers had five catches for 103 yards before leaving the game with a banged-up knee.
How the Chargers can win: Get to Smith, who was sacked four times in the opener. Don’t allow him the time to complete those deep passes. Get a command performance from that array of receivers who put on a show in Brazil. Let Justin Herbert keep the Raiders’ defense honest by tearing off an off-schedule run or two.
How the Raiders can win: Put the ball in the hands of Bowers, providing he’s back up to full speed. Get a breakout game from Jeanty, who did score against the Patriots but only averaged two yards per carry. Take advantage of a reshuffled Chargers offensive line, something the Chiefs couldn’t do.
Yet the phrase “conflict of interest” has come up quite a bit on social media — go ahead, search it on X (formerly Twitter) — regarding the optics of an NFL broadcaster hanging out with Raiders coaches and apparently communicating with others in the organization through a headset,
The NFL said Tuesday, however, that Brady doesn’t appear to have done anything wrong.
“There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game. Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner,” NFL chief spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a statement emailed to The Times. “All personnel sitting in the booth must abide by policies that prohibit the use of electronic devices other than league-issued equipment such as a Microsoft Surface Tablet for the Sideline Viewing System.”
Also during the Raiders’ 20-9 loss to the Chargers, ESPN’s Peter Schrager reported that Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly told him that Brady speaks with Kelly multiple times a week to discuss game plans and break down film. Asked about the report after the game, Raiders coach Pete Carroll said it is “not accurate.”
“We have conversations — I talk to Tom, Chip talks to Tom — regularly,” Carroll said. “We have a tremendous asset and we all get along well and we respect each other. And so we just talk about life and football and whatever. … He has great insight and so we’re lucky to have him as an owner.”
During the 2024 season, Brady’s first as both a broadcaster and a team owner, he was not allowed to attend the weekly production meetings during which the Fox crew meets with coaches and players ahead of that week’s game. That restriction was lifted going into this season.
While McCarthy did not specifically answer a question from The Times about Kelly’s reported comment about his talks with Brady, it would appear that the NFL is confident that the restrictions it has in place would prevent Brady from acquiring any information any non-owner wouldn’t be able to gather.
“Tom continues to be prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings,” McCarthy said in his statement. “He may attend production meetings remotely but may not attend in person at the team facility or hotel. He may also conduct an interview off site with a player like he did last year a couple times, including for the Super Bowl. Of course, as with any production meeting with broadcast teams, it’s up to the club, coach or players to determine what they say in those sessions.”
Justin Herbert, spinning passes with mechanical precision, led his team to a 20-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, directing the Chargers to a 2-0 record and a spot alone atop the AFC West.
The second half of a Monday night NFL doubleheader was a yardstick game for both teams — how good were they, truly, after their season-opening victories? — and the Raiders got a vigorous ruler-rap across the knuckles, losing to the Chargers for the fourth time in the last five meetings.
Herbert, ruthlessly effective in a win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, picked apart the Las Vegas secondary with surgical skill and used his legs to pick up yardage when his receivers weren’t open. He was his team’s leading rusher.
After a one-for-five passing start, he completed his next 15 throws. That included a 60-yard touchdown to Johnston, who scored twice against the Chiefs and is redefining his onetime reputation for exasperating drops.
Starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon was placed on injured reserve Monday after suffering a fractured clavicle during Sunday’s 33-19 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
Witherspoon, 30, will be sidelined “probably 12 weeks,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters.
Cobie Durant and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. are expected to be the starters, with veteran Darious Williams in a rotational role, on Sunday when the Rams (2-0) play the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The Rams also will “bring somebody in,” McVay said.
From Kevin Baxter: Philadelphia has already clinched a playoff berth. The Dodgers’ magic number for matching that is five after Monday’s 6–5 extra-inning loss to the Phillies.
So the chances are high the teams will meet again in the postseason, which makes this week’s series at Dodger Stadium a great opportunity to do a little scouting.
“We try to gather as much information as we can,” infielder Miguel Rojas said. “They’re doing the same thing.”
That’s not the main objective, though. Because if the Dodgers are closing in on a playoff berth, they aren’t there yet. And they have even more work to do after Monday’s game, which ended with J.T. Realmuto’s 10th-inning sacrifice fly scoring ghost runner Harrison Bader with the winning run for Philadelphia.
“With where we’re at, I’m trying to win every game,” said manager Dave Roberts, whose team fought back from deficits three times before falling. “And where it falls out is where it falls out.”
Visibly affected by more than just the marks left on his face, Álvarez acknowledged that Terence Crawford was superior to him. He made no excuses, but he seemed to be signaling that his body was telling him that his time as a boxer was running out.
During the final rounds, Álvarez’s frustration was evident. He lowered his hands, shook his head and on several occasions appeared resigned. Despite having had a great training camp, his 35 years of age, 20 of them as a professional, were evident.
“Sometimes you try and your body just can’t take it anymore,” Álvarez said. “That’s my frustration. Maybe I can’t understand Crawford, but my body just can’t take it anymore. I tried, but it just wouldn’t let me continue. And you have to accept that.”
1885 — The America’s Cup is successfully defended by U.S. yacht Puritan as it beats Britain’s Genesta in two heats.
1926 — Henri Cochet ends Bill Tilden’s six-year reign as the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association champion as he beats Tilden in the quarterfinals.
1927 — Rene Lacoste wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championship, beating Bill Tilden in three sets.
1951 — Betsy Rawls wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf title by edging Louise Suggs.
1955 — The formation of the United States Auto Club is completed and will oversee four major categories of auto races.
1973 — O.J. Simpson rushes for 250 yards to lead the Buffalo Bills to a 31-13 victory over the New England Patriots.
1989 — No. 1 Notre Dame beats No. 2 Michigan 24-19 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Fighting Irish wide receiver Raghib Ismail steals the show by returning kickoffs 88 and 92 yards for touchdowns. It’s the second time Ismail has two kickoff returns for touchdowns in the same game, accomplishing the feat against Rice in 1988.
2000 — Zippy Chippy, a 9-year-old gelding, finishes third in the eighth race at the Three-County Fair in Northampton, Mass., extending his record as the losingest horse in American thoroughbred history to 88 races.
2001 — Jason Bohn shoots a 13-under 58 at Huron Oaks Country Club to win the Canadian Tour’s Bayer Championship by two strokes and go one below the best round ever shot in PGA Tour-sanctioned competition.
2007 — Bengals QB Carson Palmer passes for six TDs and the Browns’ Derek Anderson has five in Cleveland’s 51-45 win over Cincinnati, making it just the third time in NFL history that two QBs threw five TD passes apiece in the same game.
2010 — The Seattle Storm complete their undefeated march through the postseason, beating the Atlanta Dream 87-84 for a three-game sweep in the WNBA finals.
2012 — Eli Manning completes 31 of 51 passes for 510 yards — the second-best passing day in team history — with three touchdown passes and three interceptions as the New York Giants rally for a 41-34 win over Tampa Bay.
2012 — NHL locks out its players after the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement.
2017 — In front of the largest crowd to attend a stand-alone MLS match, Josef Martinez gets his second hat trick in a row and his third of the season to help Atlanta United hold on for a 3-3 draw against Orlando City. Atlanta United sets the record with 70,425 on hand at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
2018 — Scott Dixon has a steady drive to win his fifth IndyCar championship with ease. Dixon, needing an uneventful finale at Sonoma Raceway, finishes second behind winner Ryan Hunter-Reay. His fifth title moves him into second in IndyCar history, two behind A.J. Foyt.
2018 — Patrick Mahomes is 23 for 28 for 326 yards and six touchdown passes in Kansas City’s 42-37 win over Pittsburgh. His 10 touchdown passes through two weeks are the most by a quarterback through two games in NFL history.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1914 — Roger Peckinpaugh, at 23, was hired to finish the season as manager of the New York Yankees.
1924 — Jim Bottomley went 6-for-6 and batted in a record 12 runs as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 17-3. His hits included two home runs.
1926 — The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 23-3 at the Baker Bowl. The Cardinals scored 12 runs in the third inning to set a franchise record.
1939 — The New York Yankees clinched their fourth successive pennant with a win over Detroit. It was the 11th pennant overall.
1957 — The Los Angeles City Council approved a 300-acre site in Chavez Ravine for a ballpark for the Dodgers. The club’s obligation was to finance a public recreation area.
1960 — Warren Spahn, 39, pitched a no-hitter and set an all-time Braves record with 15 strikeouts. Milwaukee beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-0.
1965 — Dave Morehead of the Boston Red Sox pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park. Morehead walked one batter and struck out.
1975 — The Pittsburgh Pirates routed the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field 22-0. It was the most one-sided shutout since 1900. Pittsburgh’s Rennie Stennett tied a major league mark established in 1892 going 7-for-7 in a nine-inning game. The Pirates’ second baseman got two hits in one inning twice (in the first and fifth innings.
1988 — Cincinnati’s Tom Browning pitched a perfect game as the Reds beat the Dodgers 1-0. Browning struck out eight and only eight balls were hit out of the infield.
1993 — Dave Winfield of the Minnesota Twins became the 19th player in major league history to get 3,000 hits. Winfield singled off Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley in a 5-1 win at home.
1996 — Minnesota’s Paul Molitor got his 3,000th career hit, becoming the 21st major leaguer to reach the mark, in a 6-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
1997 — Philadelphia’s Curt Schilling struck out nine in the Phillies win over the New York Mets to become the 13th pitcher since 1900 with 300 strikeouts in a season.
2000 — Chicago’s Sammy Sosa became the third player to hit 50 home runs in three different seasons, joining Babe Ruth and Mark McGwire. Sosa homered in the Cubs’ 7-6 loss to St. Louis, joining McGwire as the only players to hit 50 in three straight years.
2006 — Washington’s Alfonso Soriano became the fourth player in major league history to record 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season in an 8-4 win over Milwaukee. Soriano when he swiped second base, his 40th stolen base, to go along with 45 home runs.
2006 — Chone Figgins hit for the cycle in the Angels’ 12-6 loss to the Texas Rangers.
2007 — Jim Thome became the 23rd player — and third this season — to reach 500 home runs. The slugger hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning off reliever Dustin Moseley to give the Chicago White Sox a 9-7 victory over the Angels.
2014 — Jake Arrieta took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning before giving up Brandon Phillips’ one-out double, the only blemish for the Chicago Cubs pitcher in a 7-0 win over Cincinnati. Arrieta struck out 13 and walked one in his first career complete game.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
The Chargers didn’t forget. They were the most generous tippers in town Monday night, with eight different players swatting away a total of 15 passes and intercepting three more in a 20-9 victory over their AFC West rivals.
It was a defensive masterpiece, one accomplished without star edge rusher Khalil Mack, whose arm was crunched on a tackle, and with linebacker Daiyan Henley — who at times appeared launched from a Circus Circus cannon — on the mend from a nasty stomach bug.
“At times it felt like there were more than 11 out there, especially in the secondary,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said.
Sometimes, a number is more than a number. For example, the Chargers are 2-0, but they’re even better than that because those two wins came against division opponents, counting the season-opening victory over Kansas City. The Chargers play their home opener Sunday against Denver with a chance to run the table on their first three of six division games.
Whereas quarterback Justin Herbert was in the spotlight in the win over the Chiefs, Monday’s game belonged to the defense — starting with Henley’s interception on the first play from scrimmage. He plucked a carom after teammate Alohi Gilman broke up Geno Smith’s first pass.
It was as if the supercharged stadium sprung a hissing leak.
“That’s deflating, bro,” Chargers safety Derwin James said. “It’s deflating to their coordinator — you’ve got your first 15 [plays] drawn up and the first play’s a pick? Very deflating.”
The play had the opposite effect on Henley, who felt so bad before the game his status was downgraded to questionable. He finished with a game-high 10 tackles and a sack.
“Saying I felt like crap is an understatement,” he said. “It was definitely a long game out there, but I got so much motivation just being part of this team, being with a group of guys that got my back no matter what.”
Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley celebrates after sacking Raiders quarterback Geno Smith in the fourth quarter on Monday night.
(Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
Tony Jefferson had an interception for the Chargers at the end of the first half, and Donte Jackson had one in the end zone near game’s end.
Raiders quarterback Geno Smith was 0 for 11 on passes thrown 10 or more yards downfield, the second-most attempts without a completion since ESPN began tracking the statistic in 2006.
Harbaugh heaped praise on James, calling him “the best safety I’ve ever seen in the history of the National Football League” and “Superman.”
“He was playing at the line of scrimmage, intermediate, deep half, blitzing off the edge,” the coach said. “He can play nickel, dime backer, corner — he’s a five-tool, maybe six-tool player. You’d have to compare him to Willie Mays.”
The Raiders generated 218 yards of offense, 171 fewer than their performance at New England the week before.
“What that really feels like is a real missed opportunity just in general,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said.
“We didn’t play well enough on the offensive side with the turnovers that add up. … They covered us up pretty good. I’m anxious to see the film.”
That won’t be the feel-good movie of the summer.
The Chargers, meanwhile, spiraled in all the right ways. Herbert threw a laser to Keenan Allen in the back of the end zone, and a pristine rainbow to Quentin Johnston for a 60-yard touchdown. He spun his passes with mechanical precision.
“The guy is exactly what we thought he was for a long time now,” Henley said of Herbert. “He’s been out there controlling and commanding the game, not just the offense, but commanding the game. When we give him the ball, we understand that we can rest knowing that [he] is going to get the job done.”
If this was a yardstick game, the visitors measured up and the Raiders took a ruler-rap across the knuckles, losing to the Chargers for the fourth time in the past five meetings.
Allegiant Stadium crackled with energy for this opener, with Raiders minority owner Tom Brady wearing headphones in the coaches’ box, Lil Jon performing at halftime, and two football rockstars roaming the sidelines — Harbaugh and Carroll — longstanding rivals since their days at Stanford and USC, and San Francisco and Seattle.
Carroll became the first person to coach an NFL game at age 74, and youthful as he is, the game had to sap his spirit a bit. The Chargers were in control throughout.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh and Raiders coach Pete Carroll shake hands after the Chargers’ win Monday.
(Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
Both teams are breaking in first-round running backs, rookies Omarion Hampton of the Chargers and Ashton Jeanty of the Raiders. Each made some impressive plays, yet neither was a true game-changer. Hampton absorbed a hit from Maxx Crosby and lost the ball on an exchange when the Chargers were trying to put the game on ice.
In the second half, the Raiders had a 19-play, 11-minute drive that resulted in a field goal, the crowd booing in frustration as the kicking unit ran onto the field. Like winning $5 on a $100 bet.
Two NFL teams have not allowed a first-half touchdown this young season: Green Bay and the Chargers.
Brady, a Fox NFL analyst on Sundays, was able to catch his team after working the Philadelphia-Kansas City game the night before.
He came a fairly long way, and his franchise has a fairly long way to go.
Sean McVay won’t have to worry about Matthew Stafford catching a twice-tipped pass and stumbling over the goal line during a joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys.
That anxiety-inducing event occurred last year when the Rams practiced against the Cowboys.
On Tuesday, the Rams again travel to Oxnard to practice against the Cowboys before Saturday’s preseason game at SoFi Stadium.
But the back issue that sidelined Stafford throughout training camp will keep him off the field.
When the Rams go through a jogthrough on Monday, Stafford will continue to work out on his own, McVay said Sunday after the final public workout at Loyola Marymount.
“He is able to do a little bit more, which is good, and things are progressing well,” McVay said. “But he won’t take part in the jogthrough because he’ll be doing some other stuff during that time.”
McVay said Stafford’s workouts with trainers have included some static throwing exercises, running on a treadmill, light cardio and core work.
“It’s more just functional strength surrounding the area while making sure that you don’t do anything to set yourself back, based on the trajectory that he’s doing,” McVay said. “But we are looking forward to getting him and easing him back to football hopefully in the near future.”
