The last time these AFC West rivals met, the Raiders crushed the Chargers 63-21 in Week 15 of last season, leading to the firing of Brandon Staley as the Bolts’ head coach the next day. Harbaugh went on to lead Michigan to the national title before taking the reins of the Chargers. In his first game in LA, the Chargers allowed 53 fewer points than they did the last time they played the Raiders, and the defense shone compared to last year’s farce.
Of course, Harbaugh’s acquisition is about more than just one game.
Harbaugh, as always in the style of Frank Sinatra, will do things his way.
Quarterback Justin Herbert only managed 144 passing yards, but the Chargers won by 12 points.
“Justin Herbert threw 100 yards or something, he doesn’t care,” Harbaugh said. “Derwin James just wants to win. Khalil Mack just wants to win. These guys are winners. What’s been done here before, I feel like I got in there, I’m the lucky one to get in that culture.”
They relied on a running game that featured a rejuvenated JK Dobbins rushing for 135 yards and a touchdown in his Chargers debut after spending four injury-plagued years with the Baltimore Ravens.
Additionally, the Chargers defense, which features many of the same talent as last season, had four sacks after recording just one last year in the Dec. 14 loss in which the Raiders had a 100 red zone TD rate. This time, Las Vegas ventured into the red zone just once and came up empty in a game in which LA had three turnovers. The Chargers didn’t have a single one in last season’s loss. The differences between that game and this one were clear, from the sidelines to the field.
Of course, winning season openers is nothing new for Harbaugh. He now has a career record of 5-0 after winning all four Week 1 games with the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14.
He has memorably turned around a 49ers franchise that went eight years without a winning season or a playoff berth. Now he wants to do the same for a Chargers team that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2018 and is coming off a 5-12 season.
The work started a long time ago, but it paid off with a win in Week 1.
“They’re hard to get,” Harbaugh said. “They’re hard to get. Everyone in the locker room knows it’s really hard to win a game in the NFL, as I do. I just take my hat off to really everybody in the organization, especially the guys who did the dirty work here.”
“I can say on behalf of all the new recruits that joined the organization this year: We are the lucky ones. These players have just done a great job with the entire organization. I think you saw that today. That kind of leadership comes from those who have been here and done it.”
Who has it better than Harbaugh and the Chargers? Well, not many after the Bolts emerged victorious to kick off 2024.
