The Raiders open their 2024 season on the road against one of their longtime rivals in the Chargers at 1:05 p.m. Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Here are three things to know about the team’s first opponent before kickoff:
1. New coach
Several of the Chargers’ top players remain the same. Their uniforms are still blue, yellow and white. But expect the Chargers to look dramatically different this season.
New coach Jim Harbaugh has a way of molding his teams in his image. Sunday will provide the first glimpse at how far along he is in that process in Los Angeles.
Harbaugh’s teams are known for being hard-nosed, with strong running games and stout defenses. That’s what the Raiders are preparing for Sunday. They’ll just have to look back at Harbaugh’s previous teams — the 49ers and the Michigan Wolverines — to prepare.
“A well-coached team, physical, gets after it,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said of what to expect against Harbaugh. “Everywhere he goes, he wins. Ultimate respect for him and what he’s done in the past, both in the collegiate (game) and professionally.
“I think it’s just a little difficult this time, because we haven’t seen anything on film. In preseason, they didn’t play any of their starters. A lot of guys didn’t show up on tape. So, you have to go back into the archives, right? But at the end of the day, we’re going to have to make some adjustments in the game, and that’s what we’re prepared to do.”
2. Same Justin Herbert?
Harbaugh’s hiring was widely viewed as a slam dunk after he took the 49ers to Super Bowl 47 in 2013 and won a national championship at Michigan last season.
But one question mark is how he will use his star quarterback.
Harbaugh’s offenses tend to wear down opposing defenses with their running game. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who worked for Harbaugh in San Francisco, shares the same philosophy.
The two may have to adapt their style a bit to take advantage of Justin Herbert’s tremendous arm talent. Herbert, who is expected to play Sunday despite missing more than two weeks of training camp with a foot injury, could be asked to adjust his game as well. Harbaugh and Roman may have him use his legs more often to keep defenses honest when defending the run.
Raiders defensive coodinator Patrick Graham believes Herbert is gifted enough to make teams pay when he keeps the ball. Herbert ran for a 12-yard touchdown in the first meeting between the two sides last season on Oct. 1, a 24-17 Chargers’ win.
“He took off on that play, so he looks pretty mobile to me,” Graham said. “I factor in everything. I don’t have anything else to do. I mean, he can move, so we have to prepare for everything. I don’t know what they’re going to do. That’s the beauty of Week 1. A little angst, anxiety, nervousness, whatever you want to call it. But that’s the beauty of Week 1. Everybody’s going through it right now, but we get to play football.”
3. Defensive stars
The Chargers said goodbye to several players this offseason because of salary-cap issues. They lost a few more while turning their roster over to fit Harbaugh’s system.
The team did find a way to keep its defensive stars together, however.
Asante Samuel Jr. and Derwin James and standouts in the secondary at cornerback and safety, respectively. And the Chargers have a fearsome edge-rushing duo in Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa.
Mack, who the Raiders drafted fifth overall in 2014, loves tormenting his former team. He had six sacks when the two teams faced off Oct. 1 last year.
The Chargers have a new defensive coordinator this season in Jesse Minter, who was Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator at Michigan the last two years. Minter’s system involves a lot of zone coverage and disguised blitzes designed to confuse the opposing offense.
It could pose a real challenge for the Raiders in Week 1, since they don’t have much Chargers game tape to study yet.
Contact Adam Hill at [email protected]. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
