Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers: 3 things to watch in Week 9

Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers: 3 things to watch in Week 9

Can the Raiders stop the run…again?

The Chargers are currently ranked third in the NFL in rushing attempts and are tenth in yards, but are 27th in rushing touchdowns with just 5 so far. Some of those struggles could be attributed to the absence of Austin Ekeler but Justin Herbert has been dynamite in the red zone with 8 of his 15 touchdowns coming from inside the 20.

Between the 20s however, the Chargers are not shy about pounding the rock as they and the Raiders are in the top 10 in the NFL in rushing play percentage at 45.83 and 46.44 respectively. The Raiders’ numbers are skewed slightly by the old school game they just played against the Browns but both teams rely on the run to set up the pass as evidenced by the play action numbers so far.

Through 6 games, Herbert has attempted a pass on 55 play-action plays and 10 RPOs while Derek Carr has done so on 41 and 14 respectively. These offenses are mirror images of one another in many ways but Herbert is a lot less shy about pulling the ball down and running it with 7 more attempts than Carr in one less game.

So if the Raiders can stop the run the way they have in ever game with Nick Kwiatkoski in the lineup, they should theoretically be able to slow down this solid Chargers offense that can put up yards in bunches. Stopping the run and limiting the deep balls are the recipe to beating the Chargers and forcing some turnovers would certainly do the trick as well.