The Las Vegas Raiders dug themselves into a deep hole early and never made their way out. Justin Herbert threw three touchdown passes to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 21-0 lead in the first half, and while Derek Carr stole back 14 points in the third quarter, it just wasn’t enough.
A missed 52-yard field goal from Daniel Carlson gave the Chargers a short field in the fourth quarter and paved the way for a game-sealing Austin Ekeler rushing touchdown. The Chargers won 28-14 to improve to 3-1 and first place in the AFC West.
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Los Angeles Chargers
Quarterback
Hebert was nearly perfect against Las Vegas’ injury-battered defense. He did take multiple sacks and missed some throws — including a wide-open Mike Williams streaking for a would-be touchdown — but the mistakes were few and far between. He completed 25-of-38 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns en route to what should be a 90.0-plus PFF grade after reviews.
| Player | Adjusted Completion % | Average Depth Of Target | Big-Time Throws |
| Justin Herbert | 81.8% | 9.2 yards | 5 |
Running Backs
Los Angeles’ offensive line bullied the Raiders up front, paving the way for a strong performance from star running back Austin Ekeler. He rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown on his 15 carries.
Larry Rountree III didn’t have the same success, however. He totaled just 31 yards on his 11 carries. He also didn’t record a single broken tackle on the night.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
None of the Chargers pass-catchers dominated despite going against an injury-hampered Raiders secondary. Tight end Jared Cook led the team in receiving yards with 70 and also recorded touchdown, but no other Bolts pass-catchers finished with more than 36 receiving yards. Veteran Keenan Allen was also charted with an uncharacteristic drop.
Offensive Line
Rookie Rashawn Slater continued his special start to his NFL career. On first review of the broadcast film, the former Northwestern standout earned an 80.0-plus PFF grade and allowed just one pressure in pass protection.
Guard Oday Aboushi was the only other Chargers offensive lineman with a PFF pass-blocking grade above 65.0 on first review. Matt Feiler and Storm Norton were both liabilities and combined for 11 total pressures allowed.
| Player | Pass-Blocking Snaps | Pressures Allowed |
| Rashawn Slater (LT) | 40 | 1 |
| Matt Feiler (LG) | 41 | 5 |
| Corey Linsey (C) | 41 | 2 |
| Oday Aboushi (RG) | 41 | 0 |
| Storm Norton (RT) | 41 | 6 |
Defensive Line
Joey Bosa had an absolute field day against rookie Alex Leatherwood and the Raiders offensive line. He blew by Leatherwood for a strip-sack on third down in the first quarter and continued to wreak havoc for the rest of the game. He should finish PFF’s review process with a 90.0-plus grade.
| Player | Pass-Rushing Snaps | Total Pressures | Pass Rush Win % |
| Joey Bosa | 31 | 7 | 29% |
Kyler Fackrell, Linval Joseph and Christian Covington all also finished the game with above-average grades, epitomizing the lackluster showing from Las Vegas’ front five.
Linebackers
Kyzir White and Drue Tranquill earned PFF grades above 70.0 on first review of the broadcast film. White was the only one of the two to record a missed tackle on the day.
Secondary
Derwin James’ grade will take a hit after giving up a long reception to Henry Ruggs in the second half, but he also made up for the long gain with a fourth-quarter interception while covering tight end Darren Waller, which put the game even further out of reach.
Rookie Asante Samuel Jr. also gave up some plays in coverage, including the china route to Hunter Renfrow on the Raiders’ first touchdown in the game.
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Las Vegas Raiders
Quarterback
The Raiders’ offense started the game with three straight three-and-outs and zero total yards in the first half. The offensive line couldn’t hold up in pass protection, and the early-down runs favored no one.
Carr simply couldn’t overcome the sluggish start. He still finished the game with 21 completions from 34 attempts for 196 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. His PFF grade will clear 75.0 when it’s all said and done, as much of the offense’s inefficiency wasn't due to his play.
| Player | Adjusted Completion % | Average Depth Of Target | Big-Time Throws |
| Derek Carr | 77.4% | 11.1 yards | 2 |
Running Backs
In his first game back from injury, Josh Jacobs totaled 40 yards and one broken tackle on his 13 carries. He couldn’t overcome an underperforming Raiders offensive line in the run game and added just 17 yards on five catches in the passing game.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Slot receiver Hunter Renfrow was an obvious highlight due to his impressive red-zone touchdown and first-down saving hit on the Chargers’ fake punt. But it was all too little, too late for the Las Vegas pass-catchers.
Second-year receiver Henry Ruggs led the team in receiving yards with 60 on three catches while Waller totaled 50 himself. The explosive passing offense the Raiders leaned on to win their first three games was relatively non-existent until the game was just out of reach.
Offensive Line
Yikes. Left tackle Kolton Miller was the only Raiders offensive lineman with a PFF grade above 65.0 on first review of the broadcast film.
Rookie right tackle Alex Leatherwood and first-year starting center Andre James both struggled significantly, earning sub-40.0 PFF grades while allowing seven pressures combined. Leatherwood and James will enter Week 5 as bottom-five players in PFF grade at their respective positions.
| Player | Pass-Blocking Snaps | Pressures Allowed |
| Kolton Miller (LT) | 41 | 1 |
| John Simpson (LG) | 41 | 3 |
| Andre James (C) | 41 | 4 |
| Jermaine Eluemunor (RG) | 36 | 3 |
| Alex Leatherwood (RT) | 41 | 4 |
Defensive Line
Maxx Crosby continues to be a massive highlight for the Raiders’ defense. He finished with a 90.0-plus PFF grade and five total pressures on first review. No other Las Vegas defensive lineman had a pass-rushing grade above 70.0.
| Player | Pass-Rushing Snaps | Total Pressures | Pass Rush Win % |
| Maxx Crosby | 32 | 5 | 21.9% |
Linebackers
Las Vegas’ linebackers were picked on in coverage quite a bit. Starters Denzel Perryman and Cory Littleton both earned sub-55.0 PFF coverage grades on first review, and neither KJ Wright nor Nick Kwiatkowski made that much of a positive impact in their more limited roles.
Secondary
Both Trayvon Mullen and Damon Arnette suffered injuries early against the Chargers, forcing Las Vegas to trot out a very young, inexperienced secondary nearly across the board. While veteran Casey Hayward continued his strong start to the 2021 NFL season with another 75.0-plus PFF coverage grade, the rest of the group struggled dearly.
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