This article is part of our NFL Observations series.
I had the Raiders plus 3.5 in the SuperContest, and while they were live for a minute at 21-14, it was the wrong side for the whole game. I did win two close fantasy matchups at least.
- So much for Derek Carr's MVP campaign. The Chargers were in his face for most of the day, and afterwards Joey Bosa said Carr was "shook."
- Josh Jacobs (13-40-0, 5-5-17-0) made one nice move to stay on his feet and avoid a tackle, but was otherwise bottled up. The five targets and heavy snap share were encouraging, but Jacobs seems like just a guy at this point.
- Hunter Renfrow (8-6-45-1) led the team in targets and scored. He also made a sick hit on the Chargers fake punt in the first half.
- Darren Waller (7-4-50-1) made me regret not drafting him after a 19-target Week 1, but has been pedestrian since. He also drew an annoying taunting penalty, but I will always blame the league and not the player for that stupidity.
- Henry Ruggs (6-3-60-0) had a ton of air yards as Carr is targeting him deep often. Carr missed him on a play in the fourth quarter that should have been a touchdown.
- The Raiders defense is much better than it was a year ago. The Chargers scored 28, but it wasn't easy going.
- Justin Herbert did what he had to, but he missed Mike Williams on a deep ball and wasn't especially efficient.
- Austin Ekeler (15-117-1, 5-3-28-1) had a big game, he's getting more early down work than I expected and running effectively between the tackles. He's a top-five back right now and doesn't yet seem worse for the wear.
- Herbert spread the ball around, so only Jared Cook (7-6-70-1) cracked 40 yards receiving.
- The Chargers defense is nasty. They might be the best team in the AFC.
