One Thing the Chargers Must Take Advantage of on Sunday Against the Raiders

Sports admin September 20, 2026 0 Comments

One Thing the Chargers Must Take Advantage of on Sunday Against the Raiders

It will not be easy for the Los Angeles Chargers to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, and it looks like no one is assuming they will beat their longtime AFC West rivals. The Raiders may very well miss the NFL playoffs this season, but they have the tools to make Los Angeles huff and puff and possibly even hand L.A. its second defeat in as many games.

L.A., of course, lost 26-14 to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 and looked inept on both sides of the football. In particular, its defense was deficient, especially when it came to how it performed against Arizona quarterback Jacoby Brissett.

Brissett, who likely wouldn’t start for most other teams in the league, completed 27 of his 37 passing attempts, threw for 277 yards and got sacked only once in Week 1. This Sunday, the Bolts will be facing a more capable quarterback in Kirk Cousins, the 15-year veteran who has made the Pro Bowl four times and has made over $300 million in NFL earnings so far in his career.

Cousins did relatively well in the Raiders’ Week 1 win over the Miami Dolphins by connecting on 21 of 30 passing attempts and throwing three touchdown passes. But he does seem to have one weakness that the Bolts must exploit.

Cousins isn’t particularly mobile

It’s easy to forget how fine a signal-caller Cousins was prior to the torn Achilles he sustained during the 2023 season. He has gone over 4,000 passing yards in a season seven times, and when he tore his Achilles in 2023, he was on pace to have perhaps his best statistical season ever.

But even in his prime, Cousins was never exactly a dual-threat QB, and at this point in his career, he is thought to seriously lack mobility. In Week 1, for example, he took off on his own five times but logged a net loss of six yards for the game.

Cousins is a rhythm passer, and thus the Chargers must pressure him and make him escape the pocket and do things while on the run. They cannot let him get comfortable or give him time to spot men such as tight end Brock Bowers downfield.

The 38-year-old threw two interceptions versus Miami. In 2024, the year he returned from his Achilles injury, he had a 3.5% interception rate and tied for the NFL lead with 16 interceptions.

Los Angeles also needs to make Cousins air it out a bit, based on one Week 1 stat that Levi Dombro, the site expert of FanSided’s Just Blog Baby, pointed out.

Kirk Cousins on passes of 10 or fewer air yards:

20-22 for 139 yards and 3 TDs.

Kirk Cousins on passes of 10 or more air yards:

1-7 for 21 yards and 2 INTs.

Certainly not ideal and something to monitor going forward.

— Levi Dombro (@LeviDombro) September 13, 2026

If L.A. makes Cousins struggle a bit, it could be in position to improve its season record to 1-1 and stop the bleeding it experienced last Sunday.

This story was originally published September 20, 2026 at 12:07 AM.