Revisiting the Los Angeles Chargers
The Las Vegas Raiders are in a win at all costs mode as they are now down to their last three games to make their best shot at a playoff berth.
That starts this week with their second game this season against the Los Angeles Chargers this season.
The Raiders certainly don’t have the same momentum that they did exiting that game. Luckily for them though, the Chargers haven’t exactly made any relevant late-season run themselves.
With a record of 2-3 since the Raiders beat them a month ago, the Chargers now occupy the basement in the AFC West and seem to have a good chance of finishing with fewer than six wins for the second consecutive season.
The one plus for them in the past couple of weeks has been the return of their dynamic running back Austin Ekeler, who in the last three games since his return has caught 24 passes out of the backfield.
It’s come too late to make a significant difference in their season though, and it also hasn’t stopped quarterback Justin Herbert from hitting a bit of a rookie wall.
After his stellar start to the season, Herbert has recorded a QB rating over 90 in only two of his past five games.
That includes a blowout 45-0 loss to the New England Patriots two weeks ago in which he failed to throw a touchdown for the first time all season.
There wasn't much development on that defense at that time either. Other than more injuries that is, as pass rusher Melvin Ingram III was put on IR and hasn’t played since the first game against the Raiders.
Like when they first met, it’s a matchup where the Raiders should be the clear favorites. Even then, it came down to the last play of the game in LA a month ago.
Now with the way the Raiders have looked the past three weeks, they’ll still be favored, but it’s going to feel a lot more tenuous than Raider fans would like.
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