Raiders can make a real statement in Week 1 against the Chargers
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, and they can make a real statement right out of the gate.
All offseason, Raiders fans have had to listen to how good the Los Angeles Chargers will be in 2022, a common narrative from the year before. In 2021, Justin Herbert was supposed to make the Chargers a Super Bowl contender, but his season ended at the hands of the Silver and Black in Week 18.
In 2022, these two teams will pick up right where they left off, as the Raiders will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers in Week 1 of the regular season. After all of the talk of how much the Chargers improved, and how Herbert is the next great quarterback in this division, Derek Carr and company can make a real statement out of the gate.
Los Angeles is a home game for the Raiders, as Silver and Black-wearing Raider Nation invades SoFi Stadium every chance they get. For Carr, he has the best collection of talent around him that he has had his entire career, including his best friend, Davante Adams, the best wideout in football.
All told, the Raiders are just as talented as the Chargers heading into the 2022 season and handing them their first loss of the season would go a long way in this team’s confidence and put the rest of the AFC West on notice.
Raiders to battle for AFC West crown in 2022
When it comes to the NFL, there is no tougher division than the AFC West, one in which each team has an elite quarterback. All four teams got significantly better this offseason, with Kansas City returning as the champs, though of all the teams, Kansas City may have lost the most talent from last year’s team.
The Las Vegas Raiders won ten games last season, a mark most people are forgetting, though still, they are seen as the team to finish in the cellar by most experts. That is not going to happen, especially with the tandem of Carr and Adams finally back together after their Fresno State days.
The AFC West is going to be tough, and the winner may be the clear favorite to represent the conference in the Super Bowl this season. For the Raiders, they just need to take it one game at a time, and it all starts inside SoFi Stadium in Week 1.