- The Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 20-9 to improve to 2-0 on the season.
- The Chargers defense forced three interceptions and held the Raiders offense out of the end zone.
- The Raiders offense struggled, leading to boos from the home crowd at Allegiant Stadium.
LAS VEGAS — Allegiant Stadium converted back into a football venue after Terence Crawford beat Canelo Álvarez by unanimous decision two days prior.
The Los Angeles Chargers scored the KO over their AFC West rival Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night.
Justin Herbert and the Chargers defeated the Raiders, 20-9, to improve to 2-0 and are in first place of the AFC West after Week 2. Los Angeles never trailed in the contest.
The Chargers are now 2-0 for the second consecutive season under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
WINNERS
Chargers’ defense
Linebacker Daiyan Henley intercepted a deflected pass from Geno Smith on the first play of the game.
Deflections were a theme. The Chargers had eight pass deflections in the first half.
In total, the Chargers defense produced an impressive 15 pass deflections and three interceptions in the win. Los Angeles’ stingy defense bottled up the Raiders offense and kept them out of the end zone.
Henley and Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. were the best two players on the field.
Henley compiled a game-high 10 tackles, one sack, one interception and two pass deflections. James tallied seven tackles and two pass deflections.
The worst news was Khalil Mack suffered an elbow injury in the first quarter and didn’t return. Mack watched the second half from the bench with his arm in a sling.
Quentin Johnston
Johnston caught a 60-yard touchdown late in the second quarter to give the Chargers a 17-6 advantage.
Johnston produced three catches for 71 yards and a touchdown.
The Chargers wideout has three touchdowns in the first two weeks of the regular season.
Cameron Dicker
Dicker became the most accurate kicker in NFL history for a player with a minimum of 100 attempts.
Dicker converted two field goals in the victory.
Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll head coaching rivalry
Jim Harbaugh is 5-5 versus Pete Carroll in his NFL head coaching career after the win.
Pete Carroll (again)
Monday marked Carroll’s 74th birthday. He’s the oldest coach in NFL history.
Allegiant Stadium and Las Vegas
Allegiant Stadium was back in the spotlight for ‘Monday Night Football’ two days after Terence Crawford beat Canelo Álvarez inside the venue in a marquee boxing showdown. Crawford even returned to the building Monday with his new championship belt.
Monday marked two primetime sporting events in the span of 48 hours for the Las Vegas stadium.
LOSERS
Raiders’ offense
The Raiders offense was booed by the home crowd multiple times during the second half.
The first boobirds came when the Raiders elected to let the third quarter time expire while down 20-6.
On the same possession in the fourth quarter, the Las Vegas crowd booed again when the Raiders settled for a field goal at the end of a long 19-play drive to cut their deficit to 20-9 with 11:15 remaining in the game.
The Raiders were held out of the end zone in the loss.
Geno Smith
Smith was picked off on the first play of the game. It typified the kind of night it was going to be for the Raiders quarterback.
Smith air mailed a couple throws and never found a rhythm behind center.
The Raiders quarterback was intercepted three times and 15 of his passes were defensed.
Smith finished 24-of-43 for 180 yards and had three interceptions. He ended with a terrible 37 passer rating.
Kansas City Chiefs
The 0-2 Chiefs have won the AFC West for nine straight years, but find themselves two games behind the 2-0 Chargers after Week 2.