The 1-0 Las Vegas Raiders host the 1-0 Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night at Allegiant Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. PT.
Here are five keys to the game:
Stay explosive:
The story of the Raiders’ Week 1 20-13 win at the New England Patriots was the big plays created by new Raiders’ quarterback Geno Smith. He had nine completions of 20 -plus yards and spread the ball around to several weapons. It was a hell of debut for Smith in the Silver and Black. Now, he has to keep it up. The Chargers’ offense is better than New England’s, so the Raiders may need to score a lot in this game.
Better offensive line play:
The Las Vegas offensive line had some issues last week. The Raiders gave up four sacks. Guard Jackson Powers-Johnson struggled and right tackle DJ Glaze and center Jordan Meredith also had some issues. Keeping Smith uptight is vital. Better overall line play is paramount.
Get Jeanty going:
With Smith throwing for 366 yards, the lack of a running game wasn’t a huge issue last week, but you can’t always count on that approach. First-round pick, Ashton Jeanty had just 38 yards on 19 carries and he had six rush attempts that went for negative yards. He had some moments and he will be fine. But it would be nice to get Jeanty rolling in this game. Pete Carroll said Jeanty may have been a little too excited for is debut and he expects him to calm down and have better success.
Consistently pressure Herbert:
The Raiders ended up with four sacks at New England, which is respectable. But they were a bit inconsistent. Herbert need sot be constantly harassed. if not, he could eat a defense alive. So, Maxx Crosby and company must bring the heat from start to finish Monday night.
Cut down penalties:
The Raiders were penalized nine times for 77 yards in Week 1. They survived it, but they will need to play clean football to beat the Chargers.
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