Chargers at Raiders Odds & Betting Tips

NFL

A rivalry that dates back to the first year of the American Football League brings the second betting week of the NFL season to a close. The Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders have been division rivals since both started play in 1960, though they’ve been located in different spots throughout their existence. The 131st all-time meeting will air on ESPN at 10 p.m. ET on Monday, September 15 from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, NV.

Chargers at Raiders Preview

Not only do we get a nasty rivalry on the field, the two head coaches had a long-standing feud while roaming the sidelines of NFC West clubs several years ago. During Harbaugh’s four-year run with the 49ers, his team battled with Pete Carroll’s Seahawks for NFC West supremacy and tangled in the 2013 NFC Championship. After the first week of the 2025 campaign the teams are tied for the AFC West lead.

The Chargers exorcised some demons in Week 1 ending a 7-game losing streak to the Chiefs. The passing game was unleashed with Justin Herbert outdueling Patrick Mahomes in the 27-21 win. Herbert threw for 318 yards and three TDs and the Bolts won outright as a 3-point dog. Including last year’s playoff game, LA has cashed the OVER in six straight.

Herbert is 6-3 in nine career starts against the Raiders with 18 TD passes and just two interceptions.
The Chargers are 13-3 SU and 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games as a road favorite.
The Bolts had the second fewest giveaways last season and were flawless in their opener.
LA is 9-3 SU and 10-2 ATS in its last 12 regular season games.

The return of Carroll to the sideline was a success as the Raiders won their opener 20-13 in New England. Geno Smith had one of his better games throwing for 362 yards and a TD. He was one of three QBs to throw for more than 300 yards in Week 1. More amazing is that, according to Carroll, he played the second half with a hamstring injury and was 13 of 15 for 222 yards.

A potential blow to the passing game could be the absence of Brock Bowers, who was hurt last week after catching five passes for 103 yards. Bowers is questionable for Monday’s showdown. If the defense plays as well as it did in New England it might not matter. Vegas came within 19 seconds of pitching a second half shutout, recorded four sacks and turned a third quarter interception into the eventual game-winning TD.

The Raiders haven’t started a season with two straight wins since going 3-0 in 2021.
After missing the final four games of last season, Maxx Crosby recorded one of LV’s four sacks against the Pats. He’s fifth in franchise history with 60.5 career sacks.
Pete Carroll has won five of nine head to head matchups with Jim Harbaugh.
The Raiders have lost nine straight games when playing as a home dog of 3-points or more.

Chargers at Raiders Predictions

I like the Chargers now that Herbert is chucking the ball around the field. Harbaugh used the ground game and defense to win 11 games last season, but he has a talented QB and good receivers. Combine that with a defense that led the NFL in fewest points allowed last season and frustrated Mahomes in Week 1, I’ll back the Bolts minus the points on the road in this one.

Chargers at Raiders Betting Tips

The NFL betting line had the Chargers as a 3.5-point favorite with a moneyline price of -181.
Catching points is nothing new for the Raiders. They were the underdog 14 times last season going 2-12 SU and 5-8-1 ATS.
Vegas won outright as a 2.5-point dog in Week 1.
The Raiders are +161 on the moneyline.
The total of 46.5 is the highest in the last 4 games between the teams.
The UNDER is 6-1 in Vegas’ last 7 games.

Chargers at Raiders Head to Head and Key Stats

The Bolts had payout wins in both games last season outscoring Vegas 56-30.
LA is 6-3 SU and 5-3-1 in the last 9 head to head games.
The Raiders set a franchise scoring record in their 63-21 win in 2023, their only victory in the last four meetings.
The teams cashed the OVER in four of the last five games in Las Vegas.