As of today, September 3rd, 2020, there are nine days until the Las Vegas Raiders take on the Carolina Panthers in week one. Here at BroSports, we’re going to release one Raiders game prediction a day until kickoff. We’re going to take a look at how we think the Raiders will match up with each opponent, what we think the score will be, and track those Raiders wins and losses throughout the season.
Today, the Raiders travel to play the Los Angeles Chargers, and believe it or not, the arena is empty. No fans, whatsoever, how strange. What a unique event.
Las Vegas Raiders 2020 Predictions: Week Nine
The Chargers at a Glance
The red-headed stepchild of the AFC West said goodbye to their all-time leading passer in 2020, letting Philip Rivers head to Indianapolis to finish off a Hall of Moderately Acceptable career. In his place, they have journeyman backup, Tyrod Taylor, and first round pick, Oregon’s Justin Herbert. Austin Ekeler steps into his role as a starting running back, and Mike Williams looks to take that next step as LA’s big play target.
Defensively, Joey Bosa continues to wreak havoc and the Chargers are thrilled to have Derwin James back. Long-time division rival Chris Harris joins Casey Hayward Jr. in the secondary to form a respectable secondary and the Chargers hope to make a push in the AFC West.
Which QB?
At this point in the season, you would hope that Justin Herbert has at least begun to push Tyrod Taylor for the starting quarterback gig. Barring a breakout year from Taylor, unlikely at 31 years old, the pressure will really be on the Chargers to put the rookie by the beginning of November.
Either way, the Raiders shouldn’t be too worried. Tyrod Taylor has twice as many career receptions (two) as 300 yard passing games, and while a promising prospect, Herbert is still very, very raw.
The Prediction
The Chargers are not in win-now mode. They lack the true star-power to compete right away, despite everyone’s insistence for the 14th straight year that they’re the “darkhorse team in the west” or whatever edgy title the pundits have awarded the stars of Hard Knocks this year. The Raiders should be able to win this one relatively easily, and right the ship after a rough October.
Narcissistic Penguin 
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