The Las Vegas Raiders' defense turned things around in the second half of Week 1 against the New England Patriots. At the same time, it is also fair to say that defensive coordinator Patrick Graham's unit wasn't tested like it will be from here on out in the 2025 NFL season.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was clearly impacted by the Raiders ratcheting up their pass rush in the second half of the season opener. Still, however, he finished with 287 yards through the air on 46 attempts.
In Week 2, the Raiders will welcome their AFC West division rival, the Los Angeles Chargers, to Allegiant Stadium for the second game of a Monday Night Football doubleheader. In primetime, fans are hoping that the game is an exciting, high-scoring contest.
Bold prediction for Week 2 would be bad scenario for the Raiders
The Chargers also won their season opener, as quarterback Justin Herbert bested Patrick Mahomes in Brazil. Herbert's history against the Raiders, which includes 18 touchdown passes and two interceptions in nine career starts, says he's sitting on another big game this week.
In his bold predictions for Week 2, Lou Scataglia of NFL Spin Zone provided a an interesting projection for the Raiders and Chargers' showdown, and it may be less than ideal for Las Vegas.
"Both Geno Smith and Justin Herbert combined to throw 680 yards in their Week 1 matchups," Scataglia pointed out. "Their passing yardage totals are going to stay quite high in Week 2, as they'll combine to throw for at least 650 in yet another heavy-offense game in our Week 2 NFL bold predictions."
The Raiders certainly have question marks in their secondary, and to be frank, the Patriots' offense was not fully equipped to exploit them. Eric Stokes and Kyu Blu Kelly more than held their own in Week 1 against New England.
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The Chargers, however, with Herbert and a nice trio of wide receivers like Ladd McConkey, Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston, are fully equipped to take advantage of the Raiders' secondary. In Week 1, even without left tackle Rashawn Slater, protecting Herbert sufficiently was not a big issue.
If Geno Smith has to throw the ball so much that he clears 300 yards with room to spare again in Week 2, that likely means the Raiders are in a back-and-forth, high-scoring track meet with the Chargers, where they have to basically abandon the run game.
That's also a scenario they'd be bound to ultimately lose, unless the secondary really steps up in big moments or the defense generates multiple takeaways.
On the idea that it'll be a high-scoring game on Monday night, it's really not that bold to essentially predict Smith and Herbert will each top 300 passing yards in Week 2. It just wouldn't be a winning formula for the Raiders if it comes to fruition.