2024 Week 1: Raiders 10, Chargers 22
This game was closer than the score indicates, I wouldn’t say the Chargers won this one but more so Vegas losing. The Raiders should have had a 10-3 or 14-3 lead at half, but Minshew dropped the ball trying to stop a throw to a receiver in the middle of his motion, but the Chargers got a lucky bounce as it was heading OB and were able to recover the fumble. LAC scored a field goal after this turnover making it 7-6 at half.
The Raiders offense in the 4th quarter started to hum a little bit, Zamir White breaks off for about 20 yards but it’s called back because of holding. A 30 yard swing. The next play White takes off again for 10+ yards but a great play by a defender punches the ball out and LAC had a lucky bounce and recovered the fumble. LAC was getting lucky and that was the difference in this game.
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QB Report:
- Justin Herbert (17/26 for 144 yards, 1TD) is a waste of talent in LAC. The passes are short and feel like an extension of the run game. Hopefully this changes soon.
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How I like to imagine Herbert in the QB meetings this week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBRfVGg7f_g
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- Gardner Minshew (25/33 for 257 yards, 1 TD/ 1 INT) didn’t look that bad in this game. If LV didn’t shoot themselves in the foot this would have been a win for the Raiders
RB Report:
- JK Dobbins (10-135-1, 3 catches for 4-0/3) and Gus Edwards (11-26-0) are in a split backfield, but neither of them really looked all that good. Dobbins just happened to break 2 tackles that got him to the secondary. There was no breakaway speed on either of those runs. Dobbins had a 61-yard run that would have been an easy TD run for almost any other back in the league, but he was caught from behind.
- If you take away the two big plays from the stats, a 61 yarder and a 46 yarder, the Chargers had 25 carries for 69 yards, 2.7 ypc. After doing the math 2.7 ypc feels like a lot, that’s how bad this run game was.
- Zamir White (13-44-0, 2 catches for 2-0/2) looks really good, the best RB in the game, and things started to open up late for him… until the penalty/fumble mentioned earlier. White would likely have gotten to 100 yards if not for that fumble changing the pace of the game. This team wants to run and White is the one they will run it with.
- Alexander Mattison (5-19-0, 4 catches for 43-1/6) is the third down back for Vegas, he broke a tackle on a little simple swing pass that turned into a touchdown so they started to move towards the ‘hot hand’ in Mattison. After that play he had almost 0 production.
WR/TE Report:
- Ladd McConkey (5-39-1/7) is a superstar receiver in the wrong offense. Usually the issue for a freak-of-nature WR is they end up with a QB not good enough to make them work. In this case it’s the coaching staff. McConkey is the only WR Herbert trusts.
- Herbert also slightly overthrew a wide-open McConkey on a target in the endzone on a timing route, Herbert had to move his throw up a little bit because of pressure. If that throw was on McConkey comes away with two scores and no one is worried at all about his usage.
- Gardner Minshew and head coach Antonio Pierce are idiots. Davante Adams (5-59-0/6) didn’t lead in targets for some reason. Adams will get the ball more because he is their best receiving threat and their biggest offensive investment.
- Brock Bowers (6-58-0/8) played a very good game and was the lead in targets. Bowers looked like an experienced veteran in his NFL debut. The Bowers-Minshew connection is real. Not enough to dislodge Adams yet, but Bowers will be a TE1 in fantasy this season.
