Raiders: 5 toughest matchups of the 2022 regular season

Raiders: 5 toughest matchups of the 2022 regular season

Week 1 at Chargers

I know Raider fans are not going to be thrilled to hear it, but the Chargers are shaping up to be a very strong team in 2022, and Justin Herbert is in line to be a strong contender for league MVP.

Week 18 of last season was a great moment for the Raiders as a team as they managed to defeat the Bolts at Allegiant and advance to the postseason, despite a massive effort by Justin Herbert. However, the pendulum could very well be ready to swing the other way this time around and knock the Raiders off their high horse come Week 1.

I think this is one of the worst teams for the Raiders to open up their schedule against this year, and the fact that it’s not at home makes the level of difficulty even greater considering the Bolts have won 13 of 19 home games against them.

Had this game been at Allegiant to open up the year, I think I would be much more inclined to think the Raiders would get the dub. Now, it’s a tossup at best, and the fact that Herbert and the Bolts lost the way they did in Week 18 last year should give them tons of fuel to kick things off this season with a win vs. the team that eliminated them from the playoffs.

The run game is going to be key for the silver and black here. I don’t think the Bolts got much better in the linebacking core to stifle the run game, and they were one of the worst run defense teams last season.

I could see both quarterbacks lighting it up, so if the Raiders can pound Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake and control the clock, that could invoke the best outcome for the team.

This is a very tough test for the Raiders, however.