REPORT: Will the Raiders Put Up a Fight Against the Chargers?

The Las Vegas Raiders have nothing to play for on Sunday, except their pride and dignity.
Sep 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers wide receivers Joshua Palmer (5), Ladd McConkey (15) and Quentin Johnston (1) and Las Vegas Raiders safety Marcus Epps (1) and wide receiver Jaylen Johnson (39) fight as back judge Terrence Miles (111) intervenes in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Sep 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers wide receivers Joshua Palmer (5), Ladd McConkey (15) and Quentin Johnston (1) and Las Vegas Raiders safety Marcus Epps (1) and wide receiver Jaylen Johnson (39) fight as back judge Terrence Miles (111) intervenes in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers will face off again for the second time this season, but for the first time since their Week 1 matchup at SoFi Stadium to open the season.

Things have gone vastly different for each team since then.

Still, NFL.com editor Gennaro Filice believes the results of Sunday's game will be similar to their Week 1 matchup when the Chargers looked like the better team.

Considering that the Raiders were at their healthiest in Week 1, it is fair to expect more of the same this time.

"While the Raiders have been eliminated from the playoffs for a month, the Chargers have clinched a wild-card slot, but their seed remains TBD, with the outcome of Saturday night's Bengals-Steelers game playing a major role," Filice said.

The Bengal's win over the Steelers on Sunday night means the Chargers still have seeding to play for on Sunday against the Raiders.

A Bengals win means Los Angeles gets the No. 5 seed with a win and the No. 6 seed with a loss.

"With the No. 5 seed ticketed for a trip to Houston -- and a date with the underwhelming [Houston] Texans, who are indeed locked into the No. 4 seed -- you'd think the Bolts would be determined to move up the pecking order. So, what is Jim Harbaugh's strategy in Week 18? "As Derwin [James] said, 11 wins sounds better than 10," the Chargers' first-year coach offered on Monday. "Plan will be to win." But of course. The simple modus operandi of a Harbaugh.

"OK, to be fair, the whimsical wordsmith has expounded on his approach to this situation a bit more, but I've already seen enough from his Chargers this season to know that they're bound to provide a buttoned-up effort, no matter who is or isn't in the lineup. And while the Raiders have won their past two games, they still only boast one victory over a team with a winning record: a 26-23 triumph over the Ravens back in Week 2 that remains one of the most confounding results of this season. I'll stick with conventional thinking here.

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Ezekiel Trezevant
EZEKIEL TREZEVANT

Ezekiel is a former Sports Editor from the Western Herald and former Atlanta Falcons beat writer.