2024 NFL Picks, score predictions for Week 1

Las Vegas Raiders @ Los Angeles Chargers

Sunday, September 8, 4:05 PM ET

Everybody is at least a little bit intrigued to see how things are going to go early on this season for Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers, now that he’s officially left the Michigan program after years of rumors that he wanted to get back into the NFL.

Harbaugh has been a winner at every stop he’s made, both college and pro. He’s turned around programs and made a Super Bowl contender out of the 49ers the last time he was in the league before he made the Michigan program a National Champion. The Chargers don’t usually pull out a blank check for a head coach but they did in Harbaugh’s case.

And he’ll be expected to have the team in position to compete for a division title in short order.

Even though the Chargers are reloading and building the roster to match Harbaugh’s vision, the combination of Harbaugh in the head coach chair and Justin Herbert at quarterback will be expected to have this Chargers team in most games, regardless of the rest of the personnel. Can Harbaugh right this ship in LA?

The Raiders are coming to town with Gardner Minshew at quarterback, so you have to figure that the Chargers are salivating at the opportunity to get off to a hot start. The Raiders have the worst QB situation in football right now and could be in line to pick 1st overall in the 2025 NFL Draft if things go haywire. Antonio Pierce is entering his first year as the official head coach of the Raiders after serving in an interim role last year.

The Chargers are only favored in this game by three points, but this could end up being one of the biggest blowouts of the week, if you ask me.

Prediction: Chargers win 31-17