The Bold Stakes Surrounding Raiders vs. Chargers

Justin Herbert took part in the 'Rearview' series hosted by Mark Sanchez, where he opened up about his experience playing the Chiefs and beating them, as well as looking ahead to his matchup against the Raiders.

The Raiders can help prepare themselves for their next game by taking a look at what Herbert has said and applying his mentality to their own. He speaks about how he's locked in on the Raiders after beating the Chiefs, and the Raiders have to feel the same way.

"It's always such a battle against the Raiders", said Herbert. "We've got so much respect for them, and we know of the rivalry between the Chargers and the Raiders, and we respect that as well. I think it's cool to be able to play in primetime games like that".

This is the first primetime game for the Raiders, the first of three, and they have an opportunity to show that they're legit, against a team that many consider to have increased their stock the most due to their week one performance.

Rekindled Rivalry

On top of this being their first divisional game, the Raiders have more of a reason to win this game than just standings. The rivalry, which Herbert spoke of, is only made more intense by the two head coaches of these divisional rivals.

Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll have been at each others throats since their days as coaches in college, and that rivalry will be rekindled in this divisional match. The Chargers' offense showed a lot of improvement against the Chiefs, but in Las Vegas against a roaring home crowd, the Raiders can pull off the upset.

"That's what you always dream about. I think it's another great opportunity for us to go out and play. I hate saying we're taking it one week at a time, but it really is. We beat the Chiefs in Brazil, and now we're turning our focus all the way to the Raiders. How can we get another win and continue to stack them?" is how Herbert left off his questioning regarding the Raiders.

The Chargers have the better roster heading into their game, and if the Raiders want to pull off the upset at home, they'll have to be just as focused, if not more, than Herbert is. They'll have to look at what the Chiefs couldn't do and learn from their mistakes.

What Can They Learn?

The Chargers looked like the best they have looked in the past couple of years, and it looks like under Harbaugh, this team has started to hit a new gear heading into year two. Herbert carved the Chiefs' secondary and did whatever he wanted on offense.

If the Raiders enter a shootout with the Chargers, the Chargers have a better wide receiver room and one with more chemistry than what Smith has available, but no pass catcher for the Chargers is as good as Brock Bowers either.

Something the Raiders can take away from the Chargers' opening game is that their defensive line overperformed for their overall talent level. Teair Tart had the game of his life, and it was due to a lot of his batted passes that the Chiefs' passing game could not really get going.

The Chiefs may not have had success running the ball on the ground, but they don't have a player like Ashton Jeanty either. After a disappointing NFL debut, under the bright lights of primetime, Jeanty can make a statement and run all over this Chargers team, that's shown they can bottle up a passing attack, but were gashed repeatedly with Mahomes' legs.

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