5 Bold predictions for Raiders vs. Chargers on Monday Night Football

AFC West foes, the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers, cap off Week 4 on Monday Night Football. Bold predictions for a fun matchup.

After Sunday in Week 4, the Las Vegas Raiders have the chance to be just one of two remaining undefeated teams in the NFL. To accomplish that, however, they have a tough task in primetime with their second Monday Night Football game of the season when they travel to SoFi Stadium to take on a division rival, the Los Angeles Chargers.

This should be a fun quarterback battle as both Derek Carr and Justin Herbert have been playing out of their minds this season. Adding more intrigue is the fact that both quarterbacks will have tough matchups as each defense has made huge strides from where they were a year ago. Which side of the ball wins out will got a long way in determining the outcome.

So will Las Vegas stay perfect? Or will a one-loss LA team make their mark on the AFC West? We have five bold predictions for the final game of Week 4.

Raiders vs. Chargers bold predictions for Week 4 Monday Night Football

5. Austin Ekeler goes off with 175+ total yards

Through the first three weeks, we haven’t seen Austin Ekeler have the big game we know he’s capable of. He has only had more than 11 carries once and has yet to top 57 yards rushing. He has bounced back with 15 receptions for 113 yards over the last two game after being blanked in the passing game in Week 1, though.

If there’s one spot on the Raiders defense that still looks susceptible, though, it’s the linebackers. Herbert and the Chargers will be aware of that and will pepper Ekeler to get into those areas in this game. The result will be a superstar-like performance with 175 or more total yards.

4. Hunter Renfrow catches 12 passes for over 100 yards

We’ve seen the silver and black continue to rely heavily on Darren Waller but have also seen Henry Ruggs III start to reach his potential. But slot man Hunter Renfrow remains a key cog in the offense. He has 22 targets and 16 receptions over three games with over 200 yards on the season.

Much like their own defense, LA’s linebackers are the weak spot of their defense. Jon Gruden will aim to attack that and Renfrow will see a boatload of targets. He’ll catch 12 of them and will end the day with his first 100-yard game of the 2021 campaign.

3. Mike Williams gets another 2 touchdowns

Everyone who has been waiting for the Mike Williams breakout season has to like what they’ve seen to this point. He’s been a consistent force with a touchdown in every game to this point, including a monster seven-reception, 122-yard, two-touchdown performance in the win over the Chiefs last week.

That’s not going away. This offense loves the big body that Williams provides and there isn’t a cornerback on the Raiders who can contain him. The former first-round pick will continue his monster season with another two touchdowns to his credit.

2. Justin Herbert, Derek Carr have dueling 400-yard games

Back to the question of which side of the ball wins between these quarterbacks and good defenses, it’s going to be the passing game.

Carr has been playing like an MVP with an unreal 1,203 yards through three games. Though not as prolific, Herbert has continued the success from his massive rookie season with 956 yards. These two are going to trade blows throughout the night and match one another with 400-yard passing games for each of them.

1. Chargers hand Raiders first loss of 2021, winning 38-28

While I fully believe that the Raiders are better than I expected, they aren’t as good as they have been over their 3-0 start. This defense is going to come back to earth slightly. More importantly, though, the Chargers are likely going to head in the opposite direction.

Under a new coaching regime, there is a learning curve for the Bolts that we are seeing play out. They are going to get better with each passing week. As such, the defense will make one or two plays to swing this game and Herbert will be near-perfect as LA notches a key division win early in the 2021 season.