As the AFC West prepares for its final regular season week, let’s catch you up on what’s going on with the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders.
The Silver and Black have experienced an eventful season, albeit for very different reasons than Jim Harbaugh’s squad. Much like his debut with the San Francisco 49ers, Harbaugh has once again turned around a team into a playoff contender in under one season. The Raiders, currently in last place in the West, are facing a complete overhaul this offseason.
You’d think that the Week 18 clash between these bitter rivals would then be meaningless; not so fast.
Will the Chargers play their starters versus the Raiders?
Obviously for Antonio Pierce and the Raiders, they’re going to be playing for pride. Anyone who is healthy should prepare themselves; this is an AFC West rivalry, and the Raiders are prepared to act as the spoiler if necessary. What better way to end the season than to send the Chargers into the playoffs with a loss and no momentum?
If Harbaugh wants to make sure this doesn’t happen, you’ll probably see his starters take the field at Allegiant on Sunday. As far as the Chargers head coach goes, he’s being mum about the question at hand. Ahead of the contest, Harbaugh made it clear he’s not going through any hypothetical scenarios. The only thing that he’s making clear is that he and his team are trying to “win.”
Jim Harbaugh when asked about potentially resting starters: “The plan will be to win.”
So even if PIT wins and #Chargers can’t gain anything as far as seeding, he would still play his starters?
“I didn’t say that,” Harbaugh said. “I’m not going through all the hypotheticals.”
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) December 30, 2024
Speaking of hypotheticals, the Raiders will be facing some of their own after Sunday. This is especially true for the upcoming NFL draft, which is scheduled in a few months from now. What are mock drafts saying about the next move for the Silver and Black?
AFC West: Mock drafts paint an interesting picture for Las Vegas…
The 33rd Team has Arizona wideout Tetairoa McMillan going to the Raiders. If you had said that the Silver and Black would go with a wide receiver a couple of months ago, fans would probably have laughed at you. Now that the team pulled off a string of victories, they’ll likely be out of contention for one of the quarterback prospects. Perhaps going forward, Raider Nation should prepare for general manager Tom Telesco to once again select the “best player available.”
CBS Sports has the Raiders going in a different direction; they slate Michigan’s Will Johnson to be the name called on Day 1. Our colleagues at Fansided’s Just Blog Baby have presented an alternative perspective, suggesting that the Raiders could potentially execute a trade. By shipping off the eighth overall pick to the Dallas Cowboys, the Raiders would then receive the 13th selection along with a second-round pick. They would then use that first-round choice to draft Jalen Milroe—the Raiders would end up getting a quarterback after all.
As far as the Raider Ramble goes, our own Mario Tovar has Las Vegas going with Ashton Jeanty in the first round. That pick would give the team an explosive group with Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer, and Jakobi Meyers. If one of the league’s bright young offensive minds takes over, they’ll have a solid foundation to build off of.
*Top Photo: Getty Images
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