Chargers Dominate on Ground to Take Down Raiders in Week 1

Thanks to a big day rushing from newly acquired running back J.K. Dobbins, the Chargers are able to pull away in the fourth quarter to exit Week 1 with a victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Austin Gage | Contributing Sports Writer

Thanks to a big day rushing from newly acquired running back J.K. Dobbins, the Chargers are able to pull away in the fourth quarter to exit Week 1 with a victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Although it was not the cleanest of efforts for the Chargers, Los Angeles defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 22-10 to start their 2024 campaign with a win.

For the new-look Chargers, a win in Week 1 would serve as a key confidence booster for the rest of the season. Fresh off an offseason in which many veteran players and Charger fan favorites such as Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Austin Ekeler were let go and shifted to other teams, Los Angeles came into the 2024 season with low expectations in what many believe to be a rebuilding year for the Bolts.

On top of a myriad of personnel changes and new faces, new head coach Jim Harbaugh was brought in to take charge of the rebuilding team. Harbaugh, who had just won the college football national championship with the University of Michigan and previously served as the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, was hired in hopes of eventually bringing the Chargers back to the playoffs and making best use of quarterback Justin Herbert’s pure talent.

With that said, Herbert’s arm wasn’t as necessary in Sunday’s opening-week victory against the Raiders. Herbert finished the game with only 144 passing yards and a single touchdown on 17 for 26 passing.

A slow start offensively for both teams saw Las Vegas running back Alexander Mattison score the only touchdown of the first half on a 31-yard screenplay out of the backfield from veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew. Mattison, who started his career with the Minnesota Vikings, rumbled down the right sideline and hurdled a would-be tackler in Charger cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. to represent the Raiders’ only points of the first two quarters. 

On the Los Angeles side, a duo of kicker Cameron Dicker field goals made sure they would only be down 7-6 going into the half. Great defense from the Chargers, including a defensive possession in the second quarter where star linebackers Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa sacked Minshew on back-to-back plays, kept the Las Vegas offense in check. Bosa ended the contest with the one sack to add to his seven tackles and Mack, who was a bright spot last season for the Chargers, added 1.5 sacks to go along with 3 total tackles.

“Minus the one play where we gave up the touchdown, I thought it was lights out and really great defense by our guys. Just super happy about, and the whole team was inspired by the defensive play,” Harbaugh said after the game regarding his defense.

Dickers’ second field goal in the first half was set up by a Minshew fumble on a play where the football just seemed to slip out of the latter’s hands as he attempted to throw. The ball squirted out of his hands backwards and Mack was able to scoop it up to take possession for the Chargers.

In the third quarter, newly acquired J.K. Dobbins began to show why the Chargers had faith in bringing him in. Dobbins, who began his career as a second-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens, always flashed the talent at the running back position but could never stay healthy enough to display that talent fully on the field. Taking a chance and signing Dobbins to a one-year prove-it deal in the offseason, the Chargers relied on him heavily in the opener.

After a big run in the third quarter to set up another chip-shot field goal for Dicker, Dobbins would cash in a touchdown on another drive that finished very early in the fourth quarter to bring the Charger lead to 16-7. Flashing that talent, Dobbins shook off a Raider defender en route to a 12-yard touchdown run.

Dobbins wasn’t done. With just over four minutes remaining and Los Angeles wanting to put the game on ice, he received a carry on a second down and three. Dobbins raced through a hole created by the Charger offensive line and nearly scored on a dynamic 61-yard run to all but put the game out of reach. The fifth-year man out of Ohio State University finished the game with 10 carries for 135 rushing yards and that aforementioned touchdown.

“It means a lot. This is the City of Angels and I must have some angels here. I’m just going to keep fighting, keep working and hopefully I can get more big games in Los Angeles,” Dobbins said.

Just a few plays later, Herbert was able to find second-round-rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey on a shallow crossing route for a touchdown. Flashing the skills that made him a highly-regarded prospect and early-round pick out of the University of Georgia, McConkey ended his rookie debut with 5 catches for 39 yards and a touchdown. 

“That’s kind of what we expect from him, he’s going to make plays like that and that’s what makes him so special, and that’s why we think so highly of him. You just have to give him a shot and get the ball to those guys,” said Herbert on McConkey’s big play.

A tipped interception by Charger defensive lineman Poona Ford on the ensuing Raider drive officially sealed the knot and gave Los Angeles their first win of the season and a victory in Harbaugh’s return to the NFL.

The Chargers will hope to advance to 2-0 next week as they travel to Charlotte to take on the 0-1 Carolina Panthers, who were shellacked by the New Orleans Saints 47-10 in their own Week 1 matchup.