Raiders aim to recharge collapsing offense against Chargers

Los Angeles Chargers safety Tony Jefferson (23) intercepts a pass intended for Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. (10) during the first half of an NFL football game at Allegiant Stadium Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Cam Hart (20) is at center. Photo by: Steve Marcus

Someone had to take the fall after the Raiders dropped a fifth straight game last week by falling 24-10 to the Browns and, as widely speculated ahead of time, it ended up being offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

Coach Pete Carroll fired the highest-paid assistant in NFL history shortly after the defeat, only 11 games into the three-year, $18 million contract Kelly signed this offseason. Quarterbacks coach Greg Olson elevates to Raiders’ offensive coordinator for the third time in his career, following stints from 2013-2014 and 2018-2021.

Las Vegas’ dysfunction looks particularly problematic juxtaposed with the divisional rival Los Angeles Chargers, which have stabilized in two years since hiring coach Jim Harbaugh. They’re currently in a playoff spot for the second straight season and haven’t lost to the Raiders under Harbaugh.

The Chargers are going for a fourth straight win in the series for the first time since 2017-2018, a streak that includes a 20-9 victory over the Raiders in Week 2 of this season at Allegiant Stadium.

Favorable matchup: Raiders’ offensive element of surprise vs. Chargers’ reeling defense

Teams tend to see an uptick in efficiency in their first game under an interim coach or coordinator. The theory for why is because it’s harder for opponents to prepare adequately for the subtle tweaks a new decision-maker can implement. The Raiders won’t be overhauling their offense midseason, but some of the finer details figure to be different under Olson. The 62-year-old gets a relatively soft-landing spot for his return to coordinator duties against an average-at-best Chargers’ defense. Los Angeles has slipped to No. 16 in the league on defense by the DVOA ratings after a spate of injuries — especially in the front seven — and a poor performance in its last game. The Jaguars gained 345 yards and 30 first downs in a 38-7 romp over the Chargers in Week 11. Maybe the Chargers will improve off a bye week but, on the surface, this isn’t the same defense that confounded Raiders quarterback Geno Smith and stuffed Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty in Week 2. Smith threw three interceptions in the loss while Jeanty was mostly stopped at or near the line of scrimmage.

Problematic matchup: Chargers’ downfield passing game vs. Raiders’ secondary

It wasn’t NFL Most Valuable Player candidate Drake Maye who first exposed the Raiders’ season-long struggles defending the pass in a Week 1 matchup against the Patriots, but rather the Chargers’ Justin Herbert in the second game of the year. Las Vegas limited Maye to 6.2 yards per attempt but then surrendered an average of nearly three more yards per pass to Herbert. The Raiders’ longtime nemesis completed four passes for 20 yards or more including a 60-yard bomb to Quentin Johnston to go up double digits right before halftime. Coverage, especially downfield, has continued to be a problem ever since with top cornerback Eric Stokes having been the only consistent option at his position. In his first start last week, Cleveland quarterback Shedeur Sanders completed a 56-yard deep shot on the run to fellow rookie Isaiah Bond. Carroll oddly referred to the big play as “a dagger” to Las Vegas’ chances in the game despite it coming in the first quarter. Herbert is much better set up for moments like that than Sanders. In 10 career starts against the Raiders, Hebert has 2,758 yards with 20 touchdown passes to two interceptions.

Gamebreaker: Raheem Mostert

Carroll said Olson will have playcalling control, but it’s hard to believe the assistant will be granted full autonomy. Carroll had admitted to being more involved with the offensive game planning in recent weeks before firing Kelly. That’s unlikely to stop with someone like Olson stepping in who’s making a fraction of Kelly’s salary and was never made any promises coming into the season. Carroll wants to run the ball more, and that message will at a minimum be passed down to Olson. That probably means more opportunities for Jeanty, but he left the Browns game late with an ankle injury. The team also still appears to not have full trust in him on passing downs because of recurring protection problems when he’s not running routes. It’s therefore reasonable to expect to see more of the veteran Mostert. The 33-year-old isn’t as explosive as he was in his prime — he was memorably clocked as the fastest ball-carrier in the league with the San Francisco 49ers in 2020 — but he remains reliable. He barely made the roster out of training camp and was a healthy scratch for the first three games but has since emerged as the clear No. 2 running back behind Jeanty.

Big Number: 31

That’s the Raiders’ ranking, tied for last with New Orleans, in scoring offense at 15 points per game. It’s embarrassing to be in that company considering the Saints came into the season with the lowest expectations of any team in the league while the Raiders showered resources into an offense they believed could threaten the league’s top 10. They made Smith one of the highest-paid players in the league, and he’s responded by ranking 32 of 33 qualified passers in QBR. They drafted Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick, and he’s averaged only 3.6 yards per carry to rank 44th of 60 qualified rushers. The one area they didn’t upgrade was their offensive line, and that looks like a huge mistake. Smith and Jeanty haven’t gotten ideal opportunities behind one of the worst group of blockers in the NFL.

Best Bet (5-6): Tre Tucker over 3.5 receptions

The third-year speedster led the team in targets last week with 10, one more than star tight end Brock Bowers. Tucker has gotten 21 targets over the last two weeks, only one fewer than Bowers, since Carroll said he was taking a more active role in the offense. It stands to reason that Tucker will be highlighted aggressively down the stretch. He’s struggled in his current No. 1 receiver role for two straight seasons, meaning opponents’ game plans will almost surely stay centered on Bowers. But Tucker is still capable of big games and has gone over this total in five of 11 games this season — and that was with fewer balls thrown his way than he should have going forward.