Justin Herbert and the Chargers walk into Week 2 carrying a lot more doubt than anyone expected after one Sunday.
Los Angeles opened the season as the biggest favorite on the board and still came away with a loss to the Arizona Cardinals, a result that has already shifted the way the market views the team. Ty Gour, Sports Trader at Fanatics Sportsbook, said the Chargers took the biggest hit in their book’s power ratings.
“We had a couple big fallers, Chargers being the biggest,” Ty Gour, Sports Trader at Fanatics Sportsbook told Sports Illustrated when asked about which teams dropped in their book's power rating. “The reason being there is - there's a term I like to use, and it's a pretty popular term as well - just like that was a bankable win against Arizona.
It's one they really should have had, and the fact that they didn't, and with the schedule they have, it's going to be really tough for them to get to the 10-win threshold. And it takes them from a team we've viewed as a playoff team to a team that we view as struggling to get into the playoffs now.”
Now the Chargers are back home for a divisional game against the Las Vegas Raiders, who come in off a Week 1 win over Miami even without star tight end Brock Bowers, who was out with a meniscus injury. Las Vegas entered the year as the No. 4 team in the AFC West based on win total projections, but an upset on Sunday would change the conversation around both teams.
The betting market has already moved a little toward Las Vegas, with the line shifting half a point after opening at Chargers -7 on Sunday night. Oddsmakers still have Los Angeles favored by nearly a touchdown, but the Chargers are now staring at a game they really need to handle.
The total sits at 43.5, and SI Betting’s Iain MacMillan pointed to the Chargers’ defensive concerns in his Road to 272 column. He noted that the loss of their defensive coordinator a year ago, Jesse Minter, now the head coach in Baltimore, was part of the worry, and Week 1 only reinforced it. MacMillan wrote that the Chargers rank 27th in defensive DVOA, 23rd in opponent EPA per play, and 25th in defensive success rate.
He also said the number looks low for a game involving this matchup, writing: “The Raiders' offense is competent with Kirk Cousins at quarterback and Ashton Jeanty hitting his stride behind an improved offensive line.”
The Chargers gave up 26 points to Arizona, and they should have a chance to move the ball against a Raiders defense that benefited from a favorable Week 1 matchup against Miami.
That leaves Herbert and Los Angeles with plenty to prove, and the line movement says the pressure is real. The pick here is a Chargers bounce-back, but the Raiders look capable of staying inside the number with Cousins under center.
In Other News...
Chargers Already Have A Worrying Akheem Mesidor Problem
The Chargers went into the season needing answers on both sides of the trenches, and the early returns have not made life easier. Their offensive line is still being tested, and the pass rush has not consistently provided the kind of pressure that can cover for other issues on defense. That backdrop has made rookie Akheem Mesidor a particularly important player to watch, since he was brought in to help fill the role vacated by Odafe Oweh in the rotation.
Through Week 1, Mesidor has not yet delivered the kind of impact the Chargers were hoping for, which only adds to the concern around a defense trying to find its footing. The coaching staff still has time to get more out of him, and the need is obvious if the team wants to avoid digging an early hole. For now, the question is whether Mesidor can settle in quickly enough to become part of the solution rather than another reason for worry. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Left Guard Problem Is About To Get A Real Answer
Trey Pipkins is set to miss the Chargers upcoming game with a knee injury, and that leaves Kayode Awosika in line to handle left guard for the full contest. The move gives Los Angeles something it has not had there this season: a clean look at one player instead of the back-and-forth rotation the staff had been using.
The split duties drew criticism because it cut into the offensive lines continuity, a particularly important issue for a unit trying to settle in early. Awosika also entered the conversation with some momentum after initial Pro Football Focus data in the season opener showed him grading better than Pipkins, so this weeks snap count should go a long way toward clarifying the Chargers best answer at the spot. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers O-Line Shuffle Is Exposing A Bigger Problem Than Harbaugh Wanted
The Chargers are still trying to sort out the interior of their offensive line, and the picture at left guard has already changed again by Week 2. Jim Harbaugh has moved away from a rotation there, but the answers have not come easily, with Trey Pipkins among the players asked to step in while the group deals with injuries and a lack of settled roles.
The bigger issue is what all of this says about the line as a whole. With center Tyler Biadasz sidelined and rookie Jake Slaughter starting at left guard, the Chargers are leaning on combinations that raise real questions about fit, experience and continuity. It is the sort of early-season instability that can linger long after the lineup card changes. [Read more 🡒]