Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley, batallando fiebre y una enfermedad, marcó el tono en la primera jugada del partido desde la línea de golpeo al interceptar al quarterback de los Raiders, Geno Smith.
Henley tuvo una gran actuación, al igual que el resto de la defensa de Los Angeles.
Cerraron a los Raiders, Justin Herbert pasó para 242 yardas y dos touchdowns, y los Chargers consiguieron una victoria de 20-9 el lunes por la noche, dando al entrenador de Los Ángeles, Jim Harbaugh, una victoria sobre el entrenador rival de Las Vegas, Pete Carroll.
Sin embargo, los Chargers perdieron al ala defensiva Khalil Mack por una lesión en el codo izquierdo hacia el final del primer cuarto. Se dirigió al vestuario, pero regresó con el brazo en cabestrillo. Harbaugh dijo que Mack necesitará someterse a pruebas de imagen.
Herbert también lideró a los Chargers en yardas por tierra con 31 yardas. Sus dos pases de TD fueron para Quentin Johnson y Keenan Allen, quien regresó a los Chargers con un contrato de un año después de jugar la temporada pasada en Chicago.
Fue la defensa de Los Ángeles la que asfixió a los Raiders, limitándolos a 218 yardas, comenzando con la intercepción de Henley.
“It definitely set the tone,” Henley said. “One thing we’ve been preaching with our defense is to start fast. We know it’s a long game and we have three more quarters to go. We just wanted to make sure we finished strong as well.”
Henley registró 10 tacleadas que incluyeron dos para pérdida y una captura. También rompió dos pases.
“He’s a true competitor,” Herbert said. “We know how bad he’s feeling. For him to show up and give us his best effort like that, he’s a true leader on the team.”
For the Raiders (1-1), Smith lanzó tres intercepciones mientras completaba 24 de 43 pases para 180 yardas.
“Geno is a 70% guy, and he wasn’t that tonight,” Carroll said. “And more so because of the attempts that we made. I thought they took away from that (with deep pass coverage), and we just got to take what’s given to us. I’m not sure that that’s the case until I see the film, but I bet that’s what it is.”
Ashton Jeanty, taken sixth in this year’s draft, gained 43 yards on 11 carries and has 81 yards through two games.
This win puts the Chargers (2-0), who open this season with three consecutive games against divisional opponents, atop an AFC West that has belonged to Kansas City since 2016. Los Angeles is making an early claim on a division in which the Chiefs are off to an 0-2 start.
Harbaugh tiene al menos derechos de presumir temporalmente sobre Carroll en su primer encuentro desde el 14 de diciembre de 2014. Su historia combativa como entrenadores opuestos se remonta a 2007 cuando Harbaugh estaba en Stanford y Carroll en Southern California. Más tarde se convirtieron en rivales de la NFC West, Harbaugh en San Francisco y Carroll en Seattle.
“It was a battle like all the ones you play the Raiders and a Pete Carroll team,” Harbaugh said. “Both teams were just fighting. Everybody was all in out there. There was nobody that was just right down the middle.”
Carroll, who turned 74 on Monday, had some help with Raiders minority owner — and Fox Sports NFL analyst — Tom Brady in the coaches’ booth wearing a headset. Brady was in Las Vegas also to promote a flag football tournament next year in Saudi Arabia.
The Chargers took a 20-6 lead midway through the third quarter and then forced the Raiders to eat clock. Las Vegas took 11:15 to go 62 yards on 19 plays before settling for a field goal.
Raiders linebacker Devin White joined New Orleans’ Demario Davis as the only players with at least 600 tackles and 20 sacks since 2019.