How the Raiders Prepared for Massive Injury Loss

The Las Vegas Raiders enter Monday night's AFC West matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers relatively healthy. Still, Las Vegas has sustained injuries of differing severity to some of their most significant players during and since Week 1.

Raiders Must Adjust

In addition to linebacker Elandon Roberts and tight end Brock Bowers suffering injuries, offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson also sustained a injury during practice this week. Powers-Johnson will miss Monday night's game.

Powers-Johnson's injury will thrust offensive lineman Alex Cappa into the lineup against the Chargers. Before practicing this week, Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll expressed confidence in Cappa's ability to fill in for Powers-Johnson, as it is something they have practiced often.

"Cap's [Alex Cappa] been with the first group a lot throughout the offseason, all that. Those guys have worked together. Jordan [Meredith] has done really well. Once we stuck him in there and gave him a chance to really own the position, it took him a week or so to really settle in, and he's been a guy we're really counting on," Carroll said.

"And he's steady, he's smart. You can count on him every step of the way to communicate well. He's done a beautiful job. He just  happened to do that in the first game. Again, he's been doing that every chance he's had with us."

Carroll noted that the Raiders will need all they can get to beat the Chargers on Monday night. This includes from the home fans, as Monday's game will be the team's first home game under Caroll's guidance.

"I think it's going to be crazy. I can't wait to hear the group get after it. This is our first chance to really get in front of them. I don't know how many fans they bring, but I know ours are going to go crazy and be loud, and we're really looking forward to it. And I hope that we play well enough to keep them going throughout the whole four quarters," Carroll said.

The Raiders need Cappa to at least be serviceable against the Chargers, to give the Raiders a chance to win on Monday night. Las Vegas has a legitimate chance gettin off to a 2-0 start on the season. They must depend on the thoroughness of their preparation.