Raiders Week 2: The must-account-for Chargers in an AFC West tilt

It was widely assumed Kubiak and his desert marauders would top the visiting Miami Dolphins in Week 1 and the Silver & Black obliged with a 27-13 victory. In Week 2, a higher quality opponent awaits the Raiders in Inglewood: The 0-1 Los Angeles Chargers .

Unlike Las Vegas — which waxed an underdog opponent — the Bolts were thunderstruck by the Arizona Cardinals 26-14 this past Sunday. Like Miami and even Las Vegas, Arizona is very much in a new-era phase with neophyte head coaches in rookie Mike LaFleur (Jeff Hafley for Dolphins and Kubiak, obviously, for Raiders).

The loss was a sobering reality check for the Chargers — a hackneyed media darling pick as a team that can make noise in the playoffs. So much so, head coach Jim Harbaugh had this to say after the defeat: "We made some preseason type of mistakes. Now I wish we played our starters more in the preseason to give them some game reps."