The Chargers are back at home, this time in primetime, to take on the Raiders in the second division matchup of the regular season on Monday, Oct. 4 at 5:25 pm PT.
Here are five key things to know about Los Angeles’ opponent ahead of the Week 4 bout:
Outstanding offense
Just when you thought the Chargers’ offense was top-tier, the team will be going up against the cream of the crop. With quarterback Derek Carr playing some of the best football that he has in his career, the Raiders offense ranks first in the league in total offense (471.0 yards per game), first in passing (379.7 ypg), and tied for fifth in points (30.0 points per game).
Wide variety of weapons
With Carr leading the league in passing yards with 1,203, four of his weapons have each surpassed 200 receiving yards: Henry Ruggs, Darren Waller, Hunter Renfrow, and Bryan Edwards. In addition, each touchdown Carr has thrown has been caught by a different receiver.
Middle of the pack defense
With former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley calling the shots in Las Vegas now, his unit currently ranks 14th in total defense (355.7 ypg), 12th in passing (235.3 ypg), 21st in rushing (120.3 ypg), and 14th in points allowed (24.0 ppg).
Maxx on a mission
There’s Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, and Joey Bosa, but Maxx Crosby is on a mission to stack himself among these top-edge defenders. After racking up 17 sacks in his first two seasons combined, Crosby is just one sack away from becoming the eighth player in franchise history with at least 20 sacks in his first three seasons. In addition, he leads the NFL in quarterback pressures (25).
Familiar faces
Along with Bradley, there will be some others that formerly wore blue and gold. The players are Denzel Perryman, Casey Hayward Jr. and Darius Philon, while the coaches are made up of defensive backs coach Ron Milus, linebackers coach Richard Smith, assistant defensive backs coach Addison Lynch (2018-20), and defensive quality control coach Ryan Milus (2019-20).
