Justin Herbert put on a prime-time show to open his season and now receives a chance to dazzle on the Monday night stage.
After Herbert excelled in Brazil, he’ll try for another show-stopping display in Las Vegas when the Los Angeles Chargers visit the AFC West rival Raiders in Week 2.
Herbert outplayed Patrick Mahomes in the opener by passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He also made the clinching play when he scrambled for 19 yards on third-and-14 just before the two-minute warning.
“Justin is one hell of a football player,” Chargers tight end Tyler Conklin told reporters. “Just all-around, everything he can do … I can’t say I ever played with someone that can just control a game like that with his feet and with his arm.”
Said Herbert: “We went out there and executed and did what we wanted to. Guys made plays and it was great to see.”
Los Angeles (1-0) has high hopes as it embarks on the second season of the Jim Harbaugh era.
But desperately wanting to prevent the Chargers from a win is new Raiders coach Pete Carroll, who clashed with Harbaugh in the past.
The friction was at its worst when Carroll coached at Southern California and Harbaugh was reviving Stanford. The coaches met three times with Harbaugh winning twice.
The visiting Cardinal shocked the top-ranked Trojans — who were favored by 41 points — in 2007 before USC won the next season at Stanford. Then, in 2009, Harbaugh never took his foot off the pedal as the Cardinal routed USC 55-21 in Los Angeles.
Afterward, the two men had a very frosty postgame handshake with Carroll famously asking Harbaugh, “What’s your deal?”
Carroll exacted some revenge in the NFL when his Seattle Seahawks beat Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers 23-17 in the 2013 season’s NFC Championship.
“I remember Jim. I have no fond memories,” Carroll said Thursday. “… There have been great games.”
Harbaugh is well aware of the storyline.
“That’s expected and pretty well documented,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a great coach, one of the best. A lot of respect. I always thought if I had ever played for him or on one of his teams, I bet we would have been really good friends.”
Told of the latter comment, Carroll agreed and said they would have gotten along because they are both highly competitive.
Of course, it’s more likely a player will determine the outcome Monday and quarterback Geno Smith is vying for a second straight stellar game with the Raiders (1-0).
Acquired in the offseason from the Seahawks, where he earned Pro Bowl honors in 2022-23 while playing for Carroll, Smith passed for 362 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Week 1’s 20-13 road win over the New England Patriots.
“That’s how we want to play football,” Smith said of the aerial attack. “We want to make sure that we make the right reads. I want to make sure that I’m making the right decisions and getting the ball into the hands of the playmakers. We got a lot of great players, and that’s something we can take advantage of.”
All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers is one of those players and had five receptions for 103 yards against the Patriots before leaving with a knee injury.
“I’m not sure. We’ll see,” Bowers said Thursday on whether he can play. “We’ll see how it’s feeling throughout the week, but I’m hoping to play.”
Linebacker Elandon Roberts (elbow) also missed practice Thursday for the Raiders.
For the Chargers, linebackers Denzel Perryman (ankle) and Del’Shawn Phillips (toe) missed practice. Cornerbacks Elijah Molden (hamstring) and Tarheeb Still (calf) were limited.
Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty had just 38 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries for Las Vegas in his NFL debut.
The Chargers won both meetings last season for their first sweep of the Raiders since 2018.
