Raiders (

18.5) at
Chargers (

25)

Published Sep 18, 2026 · 9:53 PM ET

MJBy MJohnsonBioHide

ABOUT THE WRITER

Mike Johnson has earned more than $500,000 in DFS profit across a wide range of tournament formats. He combines his background in coaching and finance with years of tournament experience to identify market inefficiencies in every matchup.

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GAME OVERVIEW ::

• Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty had a dominant Week 1 performance against the Dolphins and put to bed any concerns about the health of his ankle with 29 highly efficient touches.
• Tight end Brock Bowers will miss at least one more game, leaving Michael Mayer in a huge role. Mayer led the team in snap count among all RB/WR/TE in Week 1.
• Six wide receivers saw offensive snaps for the Raiders in Week 1 and none were targeted over five times in Week 1.
• The status of star Chargers WR Ladd McConkey is in question after he suffered a rib injury in Week 1 and has missed practice early in the week.
• The Chargers offense was arguably the most disappointing unit in the NFL in Week 1, turning the ball over twice, allowing three sacks, and scoring only 14 points against a middling Cardinals defense.

HOW LAS VEGAS WILL TRY TO WIN::

The Raiders debut game for new head coach Klint Kubiak went exceptionally well, as they dominated the Dolphins and gave their fans more to cheer about than they had in all of 2025. Everything starts with Ashton Jeanty, who appears to have the potential to be a league winning back this season after his ADP dropped into the second round due to a preseason injury scare. The Raiders are clearly riding their best offensive player, who touched the ball 29 times on 50 offensive snaps. Rookie RB Mike Washington Jr. is exciting in his own right, but his role at the moment is simply to spell Jeanty and even that role was split with Dylan Laube, who played 10 snaps without touching the ball. Kubiak came to Las Vegas from Seattle, where he ran an offense that was built around their running game and then used that to open up explosive plays.

If we know the Raiders are going to build their game plan around Jeanty, the question becomes what will be their primary method of passing the ball. Jeanty was a weapon in the passing game as well, but against teams besides Miami they will likely need more from their passing game. The Chargers got dusted up by Cardinals tight end Trey McBride in Week 1, but that isn’t necessarily indicative of a glaring “weakness” against the position as McBride is the league’s best at the position. That being said, Michael Mayer is in a full-time role while Brock Bowers is out and should once again see five to eight targets in the short to intermediate areas of the field. Mayer, newly acquired WR Jalen Nailor, and second year WR Jack Bech are the solid, dependable options that Kirk Cousins is likely to rely on in those areas of the field. The explosive plays are likely to come through the speedy Tre Tucker, whose role was relatively minor in Week 1 but will be necessary in more competitive situations. Tucker’s skill set is the one that can’t be replicated by others on the roster and I expect the Raiders to be dialing things up for him early in this one to open things up in the short to intermediate areas of the field. The Chargers struggled to get pressure on Jacoby Brissett last week, and it won’t be shocking if they increase their blitz rate against the statuesque Cousins. Kubiak will be tested more this week as the game plan will require more than “give it to Ashton and get out of the way,” but his overall philosophy, play calling, and usage splits are relatively predictable. Seattle had one of the league’s more explosive offenses and the Raiders had only one play of 20+ yards in Week 1 against a bad defense. They will need to find explosives early in this game to stay in control and maximize their win probability.

DFS+ Interpretation::