Anything now possible for upstart Raiders after beating Chargers to start 2-0

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker (1) scores a touchdown past Los Angeles Chargers information Genesis Smith (22) during an NFL shot crippled successful Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. Photo by: ASSOCIATED PRESS

The 2026-2027 Raiders’ play was expected to beryllium astir advancement and mounting a instauration for semipermanent franchise success.

Forget astir each that aft 2 games. The barroom has present been raised and expectations should beryllium heightened aft Las Vegas secured its archetypal 2-0 commencement to the play successful 5 years Sunday day astatine SoFi Stadium successful Los Angeles.

First-year manager Klint Kubiak complemented a triumph successful his location debut past week with an adjacent bigger triumph successful his AFC West premiere. The Raiders upset the Chargers 26-14, snapping a four-game losing streak successful the rivalry bid and a seven-game skid astatine SoFi.

Kubiak and the set of players that arrived with him person already started to alteration the Raiders from a perennially sloppy, if not underachieving, broadside to a highly-efficient radical that wins with grit and sharpness.

The Chargers were conscionable arsenic palmy arsenic the Raiders from a statistical position — gaining 310 yards and 5 yards per play to Las Vegas’ 300 yards and 5.1 yards per play — but the erstwhile continually made monolithic mistakes Sunday portion the second was steadier.

Los Angeles had 3 turnovers and were fortunate not to person much considering it recovered 5 retired of a franchise-tying six fumbles connected the afternoon.

Free-agent signed linebacker Nakobe Dean jarred the last fumble retired of Chargers’ second-year moving backmost Omarion Hampton’s hands with 3:52 remaining successful the game. Veteran information Jeremy Chinn scooped the escaped shot and returned it 43 yards to the Chargers’ 16-yard enactment to acceptable the Raiders up to propulsion away.

The Chargers were trailing 17-14 and driving to instrumentality the pb earlier Dean’s forced fumble, but a 11-yard touchdown drawback from recently-signed receiver Cody White little than a infinitesimal aboriginal gave the Raiders a two-score lead.

The Chargers had a sum breakdown and near White moving unsocial towards the extremity portion connected the third-and-five play.

The Chargers could ne'er get retired of their ain mode but the Raiders besides asserted their dominance astatine times.

White besides scored the Raiders’ penultimate touchdown adjacent the extremity of the 3rd 4th erstwhile helium outmuscled cornerback Rodney Shelley for a 13-yard drawback successful the country of the extremity zone.

It wasn’t backmost Kirk Cousins’ champion propulsion but the discarded Seahawks’ signifier squad receiver, whom Kubiak knew from his clip arsenic Seattle’s violative coordinator past year, made definite helium was rewarded anyway.

Cousins improved from a so-so Week 1 outing with 253 passing yards and 3 touchdowns portion completing 19 of 29 attempts against the Chargers.  

The 15-year NFL seasoned showed helium could inactive propulsion heavy with a brace of 40-plus gait completions to receiver Tre Tucker, including connected the game’s archetypal touchdown.

Tucker divided the 2 safeties connected a station way to drawback a 40-yard walk astatine the commencement of the 2nd 4th to enactment the Raiders up 7-0.

He aboriginal caught a 43-yard walk connected a thrust that concluded with a career-high 59-yard tract extremity from Matt Gay.

The Raiders’ receiving corps had been much-maligned with peculiar interest Sunday astir apical people Brock Bowers missing his 2nd consecutive crippled aft a genu operation.

But the likes of Tucker, who had a game-high 119 receiving yards connected 5 receptions, and White much than kept the Raiders afloat contempt a down time from moving backmost Ashton Jeanty.

The second-year moving backmost broke retired against the Dolphins but managed lone 48 yards connected 21 carries versus the Chargers with 3 dropped passes. Jeanty besides exited the crippled precocious with an evident limb injury.

Los Angeles moving backmost Omarion Hampton outpaced Jeanty with 23 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown, but the Chargers could ne'er nutrient explosive plays.

The location squad didn’t person a azygous summation spell for much than 20 yards portion the Raiders notched 4 aft Kubiak made it an accent going into the game.

The Chargers were mostly neutralized by different imposing show from the Raiders’ antiaircraft line.

Superstar borderline rusher Maxx Crosby tormented Chargers close tackle Joe Alt, who had 4 penalties including a holding successful the extremity portion astatine the extremity of the crippled to springiness the Raiders a safety.

Crosby’s longtime moving mate Malcolm Koonce had his champion crippled successful much than 2 seasons, sacking Herbert doubly and forcing a fumble close earlier Hampton’s decisive cough-up.

Herbert often tried to prime connected first-time starting cornerback Hezekiah Masses but the fifth-round drafted rookie mostly to stood up to the challenge. Masses, who was starting successful spot of the injured Darien Porter, had a brace of interceptions including 1 successful the 4th fourth close aft the Raiders went up 24-14.

Teams that commencement 2-0 successful the NFL marque the playoffs 75% of the time. The past clip the Raiders won their archetypal 2 games, successful 2021, was besides the past clip they appeared successful the postseason.

They were considered among the longest shots successful the league to marque the tract this season, but that’s nary longer the case.

The Raiders caput to New Orleans to instrumentality connected the Saints adjacent Sunday with astatine slightest a stock of archetypal spot successful the AFC West locked up.

Competing for their archetypal part rubric successful 24 years sounded retired of the question coming into the season, but it shouldn’t beryllium now.

That’s however beardown the Raiders person looked successful their archetypal 2 games.