Raiders

It’s Raiders week.

Resist the urge to yawn.

What used to be an intense AFC West rivalry is now a bit muted with the Chargers limping into the fourth quarter of the season and the Raiders fumbling around in the dark, having lost nine of their last 10 games.

The Chargers, who began the season with three consecutive divisional victories, have a chance to pull off their first sweep of the season. The Raiders are looking to bounce back from a humiliating loss at home by two touchdowns to Cleveland.

Meanwhile, the Chargers are coming off their worst loss of the season — by 29 points to Jacksonville on the road.

Despite the Raiders’ record, the home team can’t get too comfortable.

“Raiders, it’s a rivalry,” Coach Jim Harbaugh said. “And we know they’re going to bring it.”

How the Raiders can win: Get in an offensive rhythm with interim play-caller Greg Olson, cleaning up the communication issues that were a problem in Chip Kelly’s system. Establish a ground game with Ashton Jeanty and mix in more Brock Bowers at tight end. Protect Geno Smith, who has been sacked 18 times in the past three games, including 10 times by Cleveland last week. Get after Justin Herbert, especially off the edges with Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce and Tyree Wilson.

How the Chargers can win: As usual, protect Herbert behind a cobbled-together and constantly-changing offensive line and get some traction with the ground game. The Raiders can bring pressure off the edge, but their linebackers struggle in coverage and they are vulnerable at corner opposite Eric Stokes. The Chargers have the receivers to get open, particularly Ladd McConkey and Oronde Gadsden II. The Raiders have some of the same offensive line problems as the Chargers. Smith could be in trouble.

Turns out that retreating from head coach to offensive coordinator wasn’t a great fit for Chip Kelly. At least not in the NFL.

The Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday fired the former UCLA coach moments after they were defeated by the Cleveland Browns, 24-10, falling to a 2-9 record. Kelly’s stint as offensive coordinator was an abject failure: Among 32 NFL teams, Las Vegas is tied for last at 15.0 points per game and is 30th with 268.9 in total yards per game.

Kelly bolted from UCLA in 2023 after six overwhelmingly mediocre seasons as head coach to become offensive coordinator at Ohio State, which won the NCAA national championship in 2024.

Another opportunity arose immediately thereafter when Pete Carroll became the Raiders’ head coach and invited Kelly to run the offense.

Although Kelly’s NFL experience was limited to failed head coaching stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, he jumped at the opportunity, saying on a podcast that “the one thing about the NFL that I love is it’s the ultimate level of competition. It’s football at the highest level.”

Carroll, who is struggling to find traction with the Raiders at age 74 after a decorated career as coach of the Seattle Seahawks and USC, swiftly learned that Kelly wasn’t up to the task despite being paid $6 million this season, double any other offensive coordinator in the NFL.

“I spoke with Chip Kelly earlier this evening and informed him of his release as offensive coordinator of the Raiders,” Carroll said in a statement. “I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.”

Carroll became enamored by Kelly’s ability to put points on the scoreboard 16 years ago. USC was handed its worst loss in Carroll’s nine-year tenure when Oregon — coached by Kelly — pounded the Trojans, 47-20.

If Carroll wondered if he’d ever get payback, it came Sunday. But the dismal state of the Raiders falls on him as head coach.

“I am grateful for the opportunity with the Raiders, bottom line in this league you have to win,” Kelly told NFL reporter Jay Glazer. “I really loved those players, But hey, we gotta win. I get it.”

It’s difficult to see where Kelly will turn next. A return to the college ranks as a head coach seems a stretch. His abrupt departure from UCLA in February of 2024 put the Bruins in a difficult position. Most high school recruits had been signed and top transfers gone.

The Times’ Bill Plaschke wrote that Kelly was clearly uncomfortable with the way college football was evolving, with NIL player pay, the transfer portal creating roster uncertainty and cozying up to 17-year-old high school players as important as ever.

And the timing and manner in which he left made him appear selfish. “With him, it was Chip first, Chip all day, Chip every day, and he didn’t care who knew it,” Plaschke wrote.

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.