The Chargers will be searching for their first win of the season on Sunday in a Week 2 matchup with the Raiders, who are coming off an opening win against the Dolphins.
Here's what Los Angeles needs to do on offense to come away victorious.
Stay ahead of the sticks
The Chargers faced an average third-down distance of nearly 12 yards last week, which hamstrung the offense and forced Justin Herbert to make huge plays just to keep the ball. If Los Angeles can find the rhythm they had in the first drive of the season - an 8-play, 77-yard march that led to a touchdown on the only third down of the series - Mike McDaniel's unit should be able to give their defense a rest and hold the ball for much more than 22:29, their time of possession against the Cardinals. Getting receivers
more involved in the quick game, especially with the Raiders playing so many young players in the secondary, could be a way for the Chargers to get cheap and easy yards.
Keep Maxx Crosby at bay
Crosby had 8 pressures last week against the Dolphins and looks completely healthy despite concerns about his knee, nixing a trade to the Ravens this offseason. The Chargers will go into Sunday happy with having Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt back and looking at their best in time to go toe-to-toe with Crosby, but the concern should be that the Raiders can just as easily get their All-Pro caliber edge rusher to the inside via alignment or stunts, where he should be able to beat up on the trio of Kayode Awosika, Jake Slaughter, and Cole Strange. That may mean keeping a running back in for pass protection and letting him roam the middle of the pocket, but whatever the Chargers can do to limit Crosby's impact will be the first step to winning Sunday's contest when LA has the ball.
Commit to the run game
Chargers running back Omarion Hampton averaged 3.42 yards after contact last week and forced 6 missed tackles, making for a productive day despite his 3.6 yards-per-carry average. Hampton's fit in McDaniel's zone-based offense has been in question this week because of his slower change-of-direction ability, but it's been apparent when he gets space that the 2025 first-rounder is quite the load to get onto the ground. Hampton only got 12 carries because the Chargers quickly got into a negative game script when he fumbled after running into wide receiver Tre' Harris, but LA would do well to wear down the Raiders' defense by letting Hampton run through them as much as possible to make things a bit easier late in the game as Las Vegas gets fatigued.
Set Oronde Gadsden II loose
If Ladd McConkey (rib) can't go - he hasn't practiced at all this week - the Chargers need a more dynamic receiving presence after watching Quentin Johnston and Tre' Harris struggle to get on the same page with Justin Herbert in Week 1. Gadsden played only 10 snaps last week, well behind the 30 snaps for both Charlie Kolar and David Njoku, and seems to be behind the two veterans because he still needs development as a blocker. With McConkey out, however, the Chargers could essentially deploy Gadsden as a slot receiver and give themselves a bit of a shot in the arm offensively.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Chargers' offensive keys to victory against the Raiders
