The intense battle for the absolutely stacked AFC West begins in Week 1!
Superstar wide receiver Davante Adams leaves the frozen landscape that is Green Bay for the more hot, dry environment of Las Vegas to join the Raiders.
Adams joins steady solid QB Derek Carr where they will try to reincarnate their stellar college connection from when they played at Fresno State at the pro level.
With the addition of Adams, the Raiders might have the best receiving group in the AFC West. Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, and Darren Waller at tight end will be a tough matchup for any team, not just the AFC West.
On defense, the Raiders are no slouch either. They already had pressure machine in DE Maxx Crosby, and this offseason they added DE Chandler Jones to matchup opposite Maxx. They also added a superb cover linebacker in former Titan Jayon Brown.
To top it all off the Raiders have a new head coach in Josh McDaniels who I expect will be a solid leader, much better than his first attempt when he was a super young guy with the Broncos in 2009-2010. McDaniels won SIX Super Bowls as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator with the Patriots. If anyone can help the Raiders become winners, it's McDaniels.
The Chargers have a darkhorse MVP candidate in young QB Justin Herbert. Not too much changed on offense for the Chargers, as they simply expect Herbert will continue to blossom, much like Josh Allen did with the Bills.
Defensively the Chargers really reloaded with quality players like edge rushers Khalil Mack and Kyle Van Noy along with cornerback J.C. Jackson.
This game might be the most tightly contested matchup of the weekend, considering how these two played in the final game of last year...
I'm taking the Raiders in this one! 27-24.
Who do you see taking the dub?
Past Three Raiders-Chargers Matchups!
Two of the past three matchups went into overtime!
- January 9th, 2022 - Raiders Win 35-32
- October 4th, 2021 - Chargers Win 28-14
- December 17th, 2020 - Chargers Win 30-27
