In his rookie season, two of Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert’s most productive performances came against the Raiders. Herbert chalked a combined stat line of 640 passing yards and four touchdowns, as well as a passer rating of 113.5.
Then, Las Vegas was 30th in points allowed.
Fast forward to now and Los Angeles’ former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, who is now calling the plays for the Raiders, has made positive changes to that side of the ball.
Bradley has guided a unit that’s allowing only 24 points (15th in the NFL) and 355.7 yards (14th) per game.
Heading into the Monday night showdown, however, this will be Bradley’s toughest test yet.
Herbert appears to be far from a sophomore slump. The former Oregon product ranks fourth in the league in passing yards, averaging 318.7 per game, and owns a 69.8 completion percentage.
Furthermore, the second-year signal-caller added an impressive four-touchdown performance to his resume last week against the Chiefs, which saw him outperform QB Patrick Mahomes.
“We’ve faced really different styles of quarterbacks,” Bradley said on Herbert. “He’s kind of a combination now. He’s big, tall, strong, very accurate, completion percentage is high, quarterback rating is high.
He doesn’t get rattled much, is very good against the pressure. Can run when needed, extends plays looks downfield to make big plays. Receivers know him and they understand that part of it. We got a lot of respect for him now.”
Herbert may have an advantage because while he did practice against Bradley’s defense in their lone year together in L.A., the 23-year old is in a new offensive system under Joe Lombardi.
Regardless, Herbert is well aware of what Bradley brings to the table in terms of his defensive philosophy and knows that the offense could have their work cut out for them.
“He’s done a good job with those guys, they are playing good football and they are really well-coached,” Herbert said. “They are really solid in their assignments, and they’ve got some pretty athletic guys, so they’re tough.”
The Chargers will look to stay hot in the passing game, especially when Herbert is third in completion percentage and eighth in yards per attempt against zone, the primary coverage Bradley plays in. He may choose to mix up his looks to keep Herbert on his toes, however.
At the end of the day, slowing down Herbert will not be an easy task for Bradley and the Raiders defense that boasts former Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman and cornerback Casey Hayward, who have both been impressive this season.
