Chargers have potential opportunity to decide the future of a rival coach's job this week
The Los Angeles Chargers are prepping to wrap up their regular season with a divisional game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Los Angeles already locked up a playoff spot, while Vegas will most likely have a top 8 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Chargers are expected to rest a plethora of starters, but […]
The Los Angeles Chargers are prepping to wrap up their regular season with a divisional game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Los Angeles already locked up a playoff spot, while Vegas will most likely have a top 8 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Chargers are expected to rest a plethora of starters, but you can never be certain with Jim Harbaugh involved. Regardless, I'd expect them to be careful with their starters in the final game of the regular season.
I talked to Raiders beat writer Justin Churchill about the matchup this weekend and the overall outlook in Las Vegas.
Three burning questions
Aidan O’Connell has been playing better ball in recent weeks, including their last win against the Saints. Will LV keep him in the fold as their potential starter next year?
They could. But the thought is that if they can’t draft a QB in the first round, they will go and sign one and have a battle at the position, again. It’s not the most ideal thing, but winning their last two games with O’Connell playing pretty lights out has now put them in a difficult spot. He has the tools to be a starter for one more year, but that’s not the guy that’s going to get them to the postseason. — Justin Churchill
Brock Bowers has arguably been the best rookie in football this season. What makes him so hard to defend?
I think it’s that he has an uncanny ability to get open. No matter how these defenses think they can stop him, he always finds a way to sit in a zone and be wide open. His YAC ability is pretty great, too. And, at the end of the day, it comes down to the fact that the Raiders are force feeding him. He’s going to be very good for a very long time. — Justin Churchill
Could an upset victory over the rival Chargers give Antonio Pierce the steam to keep his job going into next year?
I’d like to say yes, because all Mark Davis wants to do is win, and he doesn’t really care about a draft pick, but then again, there are so many rumblings about other coaches like Mike Vrabel that it’s so hard to tell. The Raiders gave Josh McDaniels a year and a half. They fired him with a better record than what Antonio Pierce has in pretty much the same amount of time. It’s so hard to tell, though. If he loses to a Chargers team that rest all their starters, that may be all she wrote. — Justin Churchill
Clearly, there's plenty to play for if you are the Raiders. The future at head coach in silver and black could hang in the balance as this season closes.
The Chargers could play a role in whether or not Vegas has a new HC in charge in 2025.
Jim Harbaugh’s bold bet on himself pays off after Chargers clinch playoff spot
The Los Angeles Chargers bet on Jim Harbaugh when they hired him. He was an older option, but he was also a proven winner. Since his arrival in LA, he's done exactly that. The first-year head coach for the Chargers has quickly turned around a team that frustrated fans to no end just a season […]
