The Los Angeles Chargers don’t have to look too far to find the blueprint for what needs to change in Week 2.
After opening the 2026 season with a 26-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the Chargers return to SoFi Stadium on Sunday, September 20, to face the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders enter the AFC West matchup at 1-0 after defeating Miami 27-13, while Los Angeles is searching for answers after an opener with too many mistakes on offense, defense, and special teams prevented the Chargers from taking control.
The encouraging part for Los Angeles is that the problems from Week 1 are identifiable. The bigger question is whether the Chargers can correct them quickly enough against a Raiders team that demonstrated a willingness to play patiently and let veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins operate within a structured offense.
Stay ahead of the chains
The biggest offensive problem against Arizona wasn't simply the final point total. It was how often the Chargers put themselves in difficult down-and-distance situations.
Los Angeles converted just 2 of 8 third-down opportunities, and the average third down required 12.4 yards to gain. The Chargers faced third downs of 10, 11, 16, 18 and even 30 yards during the game. They converted only two of their five attempts when they needed eight or more yards.
That is a recipe for offensive inconsistency regardless of who is playing quarterback.
The Chargers need to make second down more manageable, avoid negative plays and find ways to create more third-and-short or third-and-medium situations. Justin Herbert is capable of converting difficult downs, but the offense can't consistently ask him to rescue drives from behind the chains.
There was evidence of what the offense can look like when it stays on schedule. Los Angeles opened the game with a 77-yard touchdown drive, and Omarion Hampton provided an explosive element in the running game. The problem was sustaining that efficiency after the opening possession.
Against the Raiders, the Chargers need more of the opening-drive version of their offense.
The Chargers need to finish drives
Los Angeles had opportunities against Arizona but failed to turn enough of them into touchdowns.
The Chargers failed on a fourth-and-goal opportunity from the Arizona 3-yard line, and after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter to pull within two points, the offense never found another touchdown drive. The Chargers ultimately turned the ball over on downs on their final two possessions.
That puts considerable pressure on the defense.
If the Chargers are going to compete in what could become a close AFC West game, they need to convert more red-zone opportunities and avoid giving away possessions. Against a veteran quarterback like Cousins, every empty possession becomes more significant because the Raiders have demonstrated that they can string together long drives.
The defense needs to create pressure
This may be the most important adjustment of the week.
The Chargers generated only six quarterback hurries against Arizona, according to Pro Football Focus, tied for the second-fewest in the league in Week 1. Jacoby Brissett also averaged only 2.54 seconds before releasing the football, meaning Arizona frequently neutralized the Chargers' pass rush with quick throws.
Kirk Cousins presents a different challenge, but the underlying lesson remains the same: the Chargers have to make the quarterback uncomfortable.
Cousins was highly efficient during the Raiders' opening drive against Miami, completing all nine of his passes on a 93-yard possession that lasted nearly nine minutes. He finished the game 21-of-30 for 160 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
The numbers aren't spectacular from a yardage standpoint, but that's not necessarily the point.
Cousins doesn't need to throw for 350 yards if the Raiders can consistently manufacture manageable situations, run the football and use short and intermediate throws to move the chains.
So how can the Chargers disrupt him?
Make Cousins hold the football
The Chargers need to prevent Cousins from getting comfortable with his first read.
That means disguising coverages before the snap, rotating safeties and using simulated pressures to make Cousins determine where the pressure is coming from after the snap.
Cousins is a veteran quarterback who understands defensive structure. Simply lining up in the same coverage repeatedly gives him an opportunity to diagnose the defense and distribute the ball.
The Chargers should make him process.
The objective isn't necessarily to blitz on every down. It is to create enough uncertainty that Cousins can't consistently identify his matchup and deliver the ball on rhythm.
Collapse the pocket from the inside
There is another reason pressure matters against Cousins: the Chargers don't want to allow him to operate comfortably from a clean pocket.
The ideal pass-rush plan should involve interior disruption combined with edge pressure. If the pocket collapses directly in front of Cousins, his ability to step up and deliver accurately becomes more difficult.
That makes the defensive line's performance particularly important.
The Chargers don't need to live on all-out blitzes. They need to win enough individual pass-rush matchups that Cousins starts feeling pressure before his routes have time to develop.
Don’t let Ashton Jeanty become Cousins’ security blanket
Stopping Cousins begins with understanding that the Raiders aren't asking him to carry the offense by himself.
Ashton Jeanty was central to Las Vegas' Week 1 victory. He rushed for 102 yards on 23 carries and added six receptions for 45 yards. Two of Cousins' three touchdown passes went to Jeanty.
That's a major matchup problem.
The Chargers can't simply treat Jeanty as a traditional running back. He is also a significant part of the passing game, and the Raiders demonstrated that they can use him to punish defenses that become too aggressive.
The Chargers need disciplined linebacker and safety play on checkdowns and running-back routes. If they can force Cousins to throw beyond his immediate safety valve, they can make the Raiders' quarterback work through more of the progression.
Make the Raiders win without long, efficient drives
Las Vegas showed against Miami that it can control the clock.
The Raiders possessed the ball for 34:53 in Week 1 and opened the game with a nearly nine-minute touchdown drive.
The Chargers' defense therefore needs to prioritize early-down efficiency.
A first-down run that produces four or five yards is not necessarily a defensive failure. But allowing the Raiders to repeatedly reach second-and-manageable and third-and-short creates exactly the environment in which Cousins can thrive.
The Chargers need negative plays.
They need second-and-long.
They need third-and-7 rather than third-and-2.
And when those opportunities arrive, the pass rush has to capitalize.
Avoid giving the Raiders extra possessions
Special teams became a major factor in the Chargers' loss to Arizona.
A blocked punt early in the fourth quarter gave the Cardinals possession at the Los Angeles 3-yard line, and Arizona scored two plays later. Herbert was subsequently intercepted in Arizona territory, essentially ending Los Angeles' comeback chances.
Against a team that controlled the ball for nearly 35 minutes in Week 1, the Chargers can't afford to give away possessions.
The margin for error gets even smaller when facing a divisional opponent.
Week 2 comes down to execution
The Chargers' Week 1 loss exposed several correctable problems: poor third-down efficiency, too many long-yardage situations, inconsistent offensive execution, insufficient pass-rush pressure and a costly special-teams mistake.
The Raiders present a tougher challenge in one important respect: they just demonstrated that they can play complementary football.
Las Vegas ran effectively, protected Cousins, created pressure defensively and controlled possession in its 27-13 victory over Miami.
For Los Angeles, the path forward isn't complicated, but executing it will be.
The offense has to stay ahead of the chains and finish drives. The defense has to create pressure without losing discipline against Jeanty. Special teams have to eliminate the game-changing mistakes.
And when Kirk Cousins drops back, the Chargers need to make sure he doesn't get the one thing every veteran quarterback wants on Sunday afternoon.
