4 reasons Los Angeles Chargers will beat Raiders in NFL Week 1

The Los Angeles Chargers will take on their longtime rivals the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1 at SoFi Stadium. The Chargers have beaten the Raiders the last four times these two teams have kicked off a season against each other.

Both teams are going to want to get off to a strong start and there will likely be plenty of Raiders fans sitting in the seats at SoFi. But there are multiple reasons why the Chargers will win this game.

The Chargers will start the 2024 season 1-0 because of these four factors.

Jim Harbaugh, Raiders QB situation will lead to Week 1 win for Chargers

Jim Harbaugh

The Chargers have Jim Harbaugh, one of the most calculated and dedicated coaches at any level of football. He may be a bit quirky and some may see him as rude. Some may also be irritated with the fact that he left Michigan amid a slew of allegations while he was there.

But he’s not going to start off his tenure with the Chargers in a losing effort. He is the biggest reason the Chargers get this win.

Chargers will pound the rock

Harbaugh is going to be focused on running the ball and his offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, is the exact fit for his vision of doing just that. The Chargers will run the ball down the Raiders’ throat in this one, controlling time of possession in the process.

This game will usher in a new brand of smashmouth Chargers football.

Raiders QBs

The Raiders were one of the last teams to name a starting quarterback, but that wasn’t because they had some great, back-and-forth competition in camp. It was because they were choosing between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell.

While Minshew ended up getting the nod to start the season, the Raiders have the worst quarterback situation in the league.

Revenge

The last time these two teams played, the Raiders scored 63 points. Yes… 63.

The Raiders won a laugher 63-21 and even though that was a different coaching staff with several different players, it’s still part of this rivalry forever. The Chargers are going to want to erase the thought of that memory as quickly as possible and getting this win will go a long way in doing that.