Chargers could create serious mismatch against Raiders

It was not necessarily a banner day for the Las Vegas Raiders secondary against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

While they did come away with the 20-13 victory, it took overcoming a shaky start to make it happen. The secondary was not exposed often enough, but the Patriots still had players like Kayshon Boutte have strong days. That matchup could be exploited much more often on Monday against a Los Angeles Chargers team that threw for over 300 yards as well over the Kansas City Chiefs last week.

The Chargers will probably like their odds against the Raiders secondary, but one particular matchup could end up tilting the game away from the home team.

The Raiders could have their greatest weakness exposed against the Chargers.

According to Pro Football Focus, the worst-performing Raider in the season opener was slot cornerback Darnay Holmes.

In 21 coverage snaps, Holmes allowed five catches for 73 yards. All in all, he received a 30.1 PFF grade for his performance, which was the lowest amongst all the Raiders.

That is concerning on its own, but the Raiders now have this issue heading into a matchup featuring two of the best slot receivers in recent memory in Ladd McConkey and Keenan Allen.

Carroll did try to give Holmes some additional help against the Patriots, rolling out the likes of Jamal Adams and Jeremy Chinn in the slot at certain points. Still, it remains a concern against a Chargers offense that clearly has no issue with airing the ball out if the passing attack is clicking like it did against the Chiefs.

Holmes is going to need to turn things around and quickly if he wants to help the Raiders get a major divisional victory under their belt.