Many people aren’t surprised that the Raiders beat the hapless Dolphins in Week 1. But plenty of people were shocked that the Chargers were tripped up by the Cardinals as 9.5-point home favorites, 26-14. The Bolts have lost four straight games dating back to last season, including their Wild Card defeat at New England.
Chargers QB Justin Herbert compiled 209 passing yards against the Cardinals, marking the seventh time in his last nine games he posted 220 or fewer passing yards. LA’s defense held Arizona to one touchdown in the final three quarters, but the Cardinals converted four field goals.
Las Vegas took care of business against Miami in a 27-13 home victory, led by three TD passes from QB Kirk Cousins in his Raiders debut. The Silver and Black struggled away from Sin City last season, dropping their final seven road games after surprising the Patriots in Week 1.
The Chargers gave up the eighth-fewest yards to opposing wide receivers last season (126.6), but yielded 164 yards to Arizona’s receivers in Week 1. Los Angeles swept Las Vegas each of the past two seasons, while holding the Raiders to 23 total points in 2025.
The Chargers are 5-0 in the previous five meetings with the Raiders at SoFi Stadium, while covering the spread each time. This is a good spot to back the Bolts after their surprising Week 1 loss, as they take on a Raiders team they have owned recently.
Raiders vs Chargers prediction: Chargers -6.5 (-112) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number to -120.
