Las Vegas – It took just two weeks of the 2025 NFL regular season for the Los Angeles Chargers to take control of the AFC West division, defeating the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night, 20-9 on September 15. The game was played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas before a crowd of 62,526 passionate Raider fans, and a small group of enthusiastic Chargers fans as well.
The win moved the Chargers to 2-0 on the season, one game ahead of the Denver Broncos and Raiders, who are both 1-1, and two games ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs, The Chiefs have won nine consecutive AFC West division titles, and to gain a two-game lead over them at any point of the season is huge for the Chargers. Winning two division games away from home is also very important.
The game against the Raiders was a defensive struggle, but the Chargers were able to win the turnover battle, 3-1, and come up with two touchdown passes from quarterback Justin Herbert that helped make the difference. The Chargers intercepted Raiders quarterback Geno Smith three times, starting with an interception on the first play of the game by linebacker Daiyan Henley, who grabbed a pass tipped by safety Alohi Gilman.
Henley, who was playing with a fever, had 10 tackles, seven solo tackles, a key sack on fourth down with 3:57 remaining in the game to end a Raiders possession and a five-yard tackle for loss on running back Zamir White on a third and one to end another Raiders possession. Henley’s performance was lauded by Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh.
“Had a fever, but once he started playing, the medicine was out there,” Harbaugh said. “It was out there on the field. It was great to see him have the game that he had. He’s a rising star, superstar. Just happy for him. Played incredible, as did just about everybody on our defense.”
Henley was indeed not the only player on defense who played well. Derwin James, with his versatility, was lined up all over the place on defense, and made several key plays on defense, including a deflected pass that was intercepted by cornerback Donte Jackson in the end zone to end a Raiders scoring opportunity. Harbaugh was singing the praises of James and his defense after the game.
“Thank goodness for defense,” Harbaugh said. “They were the guardian of victories today. Derwin was flying around in the secondary. Makes that tip. He was playing at the line of scrimmage; he was playing in the intermediate and he was playing in the deep half and deep part of the field and blitzing off the edge. I’ve called him the best safety I’ve ever seen in the history of the National Football League. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb there.”
The defense held the Raiders to just three field goals and without a touchdown. Henley’s interception on the first play resulted in a 37-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker to give the Chargers a 3-0 lead. With the score tied 3-3 late in the first quarter, the Chargers drove 72 yards in eight plays, the drive culminating with Herbert rolling to his right and finding wide receiver Keenan Allen in the corner of the end zone for a ten-yard scoring toss, giving the Chargers a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Chargers never gave that lead up and added to it with a beautiful 60-yard bomb by Herbert for a touchdown to wide receiver Quentin Johnston with 1:51 left in the first half, giving the Chargers a 17-6 lead at halftime. The Chargers took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove 72 yards in 12 plays, with the result being a 20-yard field goal from Dicker. The drive used seven minutes and 30 seconds of the game clock.
After the Chargers took 20-6 lead, the Raiders went on a 19 play, 62-yard drive that resulted in a 37-yard FG. The drive used 11 minutes and 15 seconds of the game clock and cut the Chargers lead to 20-9 with 11:15 remaining in the game. The Raiders needed a touchdown on that drive and were booed by their home fans for choosing to kick a field goal after the long drive. The Chargers drive to start the third quarter and the follow-up drive by the Raiders took nearly 19 minutes of the 30 minutes remaining in the game and helped seal the victory for the Chargers.
The Chargers play their first home game against Denver at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood this Sunday, September 21, in Week 3 of the NFL season. The game will start at 1:05 pm and will be televised locally on CBS. The game gives the Chargers an opportunity to increase their lead in the division and with a victory would give the Chargers a 3-0 record in the AFC West.
The Broncos made the playoffs in 2024 and have an improved roster led by head coach Sean Payton, who led his New Orleans Saints team to a Super Bowl Championship in 2010. The Broncos defense has been considered a strength of the team, but last weekend in a loss to the Indianapolis Colts they gave up 316 passing yards to quarterback Daniel Jones and 165 yards on the ground to running back Jonathan Taylor.
The Broncos do have a solid offense led by quarterback Bo Nix and former Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins. The Chargers will be without 9-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Khalil Mack for a few weeks due to an apparent dislocated elbow early in the Raiders game. But as Harbaugh said after the Raiders game, “Whether it was offense, defense, or special teams, we were at our best when our best was needed.” That will be required again on Sunday against the Broncos.