The Las Vegas Raiders took on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season with first place in the AFC West division on the line. The battle between these two familiar foes on Monday Night Football was a defensive slugfest.
Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter made life hard for Geno Smith and the Raiders' offense, as Las Vegas' home debut turned into a disaster. After three interceptions, Smith got a little hesitant, so he kept fleeing the pocket to keep plays alive.
Las Vegas' offensive line also struggled to maintain any consistency against Los Angeles' front seven, even though former Raider Khalil Mack left the game early with a gruesome injury. Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Silver and Black's Week 2 defeat.
3 takeaways from Raiders' loss to Chargers
1. The Raiders' defense was pleasantly formidable
Kyu Blu Kelly and Isaiah Pola-Mao blew coverage on Quentin Johnson, allowing him to get past the secondary for six points. Aside from that one play, however, the Raiders' defense only gave up 13 points, three of which the offense spotted them with an interception deep in their own territory.
The run defense was solid once again, only giving up 81 yards on the ground. Maxx Crosby also got into the backfield on a handoff and created the lone Chargers turnover of the game. Coming into the season, the defense was supposed to be the weak link, but so far, they have been anything but.
Players like Devin White and the much-maligned defensive backfield are outperforming expectations. If they had another bona fide stud like Maxx Crosby on the back end, it would be hard not to get excited about what this unit could be.
2. Jim Harbaugh and Jessie Minter are Chip Kelly's kryptonite
For as lauded as the Raiders' defense was on Monday, the Chargers' group was a stone's throw better. Familiarity was key here, as Harbaugh and Minter haven't lost to Kelly dating back to their time in college.
Ashton Jeanty surprisingly only got 14 touches, and he didn't even manage to break 50 total yards. The offense arguably possesses the two best tight ends in the NFL, and they were limited to under 50 yards as well.
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The Raiders could have used the services of Amari Cooper or another veteran wideout in a heavyweight fight like this. Dont'e Thornton Jr. is not ready to hold a Cooper-like role in an offense yet. On paper, it was deemed that this offense was much better, but they have yet to prove it.
3. Las Vegas is ahead of schedule
Last year, the Silver and Black would have lost to a team like the New England Patriots, but they were able to correct their mistakes and pull out a victory. Thanks to Pete Carroll, this team is not in last place two weeks into the season.
They hung around with the Chargers, a Super Bowl contender, despite not playing their best game, and they will win some matchups that they are not supposed to because of their coaching.
Beating Los Angeles would have put the Raiders in an atmosphere that fans haven't seen in over two decades. Just because they fell short, however, does not mean that the fan base should abandon their trust in Carroll to steady the ship on the long journey back to storied postseason success.