To begin the 2026 NFL season 2-0, the Las Vegas Raiders will have to fend off their bitter AFC West rival, the Los Angeles Chargers. If Klint Kubiak and his team can get the job done on Sunday, not only will it help in the standings, but the young coach will have made a major statement early in his career.
Despite the Raiders' strong start to the campaign, the experts are still widely picking Jim Harbaugh's Chargers to beat Las Vegas. Some are even predicting a blowout. But the Silver and Black have a chance to prove that they are not the same old Raiders if they can take down "mighty" Los Angeles.
Everyone knows somewhere in their hearts or minds that the Chargers are perennially overrated. But Las Vegas has to prove that in Week 2. If they can, they will accomplish several feats that other recent Raiders teams haven't, and they'll put the league on notice in the process. This is a big opportunity.
Young Las Vegas Raiders team can put a lot of folks on notice with win vs. Chargers
Going 2-0 would be a huge confidence boost for this young team, especially in the early stages of the rebuild. Doing so without star Brock Bowers would be another feather in the team and staff's cap, as it would demonstrate that promise is all over this roster and that it is not just top-heavy or incongruent.
Also, beating a perennial playoff team that is perceived well around the league would do a lot for the psyche of those at Raiders HQ. It's one thing to decipher on paper how Las Vegas can pull off an upset or become a team everyone talks about, but it's another thing to actually do it and have proof.
Beating a team with an experienced staff and roster would also be quite an accomplishment for Kubiak's team, which is one of the youngest in the NFL and is led by a first-time head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. The Raiders didn't do that in Week 1 vs. the Miami Dolphins.
Harbaugh's group is full of established veterans, and they are led by a head coach who is considered somewhat of a legend, at least in the regular season, and an offensive coordinator who was a head coach last year. This is apparently a star-studded staff, so Las Vegas would confirm a lot with a win.
Winning AFC West games has been a foreign concept for Raiders
Let's be honest about the Raiders' recent history in the AFC West: it hasn't been pretty, and the win-loss record doesn't even show how ugly it has been. Last year, Las Vegas technically went 1-5, but that's only because they beat the Kansas City Chiefs' third-stringers in Week 18.
Four out of the other five games were complete blowouts.
In 2024, the Raiders went 0-6 in the division, and they lost four out of six games by 10 or more points. In 2023, Las Vegas caught lightning in a bottle with Antonio Pierce, beating the Justin Herbert-less Chargers 63-21 and the Chiefs on Christmas, thanks to a combined five defensive touchdowns.
They also beat the Denver Broncos by two scores in the season finale that year, but the Broncos had benched starting quarterback Russell Wilson, so the Raiders beat a Jarrett Stidham-led team. 2022 was really the last season that the Silver and Black were earnestly competitive in the AFC West.
To win in this league, you have to win in your division; it is the surest way to success and to make the playoffs. If Las Vegas wins on Sunday, it would be its first real win since Christmas of 2023, and hopefully, they can do it without a fluky showing in a snowy primetime game. A good, honest win.
Raiders have had no success playing at SoFi Stadium (in front of fans, at least)
SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles should be the Raiders' home away from home, as the Silver and Black are still the city's favorite team. But Las Vegas has just a 1-5 record there, with their only win coming in 2020, when no fans were in the crowd because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Winning on the road against the Chargers doesn't sound more consequential than winning at any other AFC West stadium, but from a mental standpoint, it is. The Raiders are supposed to own Los Angeles and play an extra home game every year, and they won't until they win in Southern California.
So, Kubiak's team has something else to play for in Week 2, and another sentence to add to what would be a major statement win for Las Vegas and its young head coach.
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