Justin Herbert, Chargers will see familiar foes in Monday’s showdown with Raiders

INGLEWOOD — Justin Herbert spent plenty of time in Gus Bradley’s office looking for a different point of view during his memorable rookie season.

Bradley told the Chargers’ young quarterback how defenses might attack him on a weekly basis. The then-Chargers defensive coordinator was impressed by Herbert’s physical attributes, but it was his preparation that convinced Bradley that Herbert had a bright future.

“He’s an incredible coach,” Herbert said about Bradley. “I got really close with him last year. Being able to spend time with him last year was really meaningful to me.”

Bradley played a role in why Herbert hoisted the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year last season. But Bradley and head coach Anthony Lynn were fired after the 2020 season for missing the postseason for a second consecutive season.

Bradley quickly found a new home as the Raiders’ defensive coordinator. He’s become one of the defensive coaches preparing to slow Herbert and he probably knows the star quarterback the best from their one year together.

The same can be said about Herbert and his knowledge of Bradley’s defensive scheme. There will be plenty of familiarity between the Chargers (2-1) and Raiders (3-0) for Monday night’s showdown at SoFi Stadium.

“It’s a weird situation with us,” Herbert said about facing Bradley’s Raiders defense. “It’s one of those things where we can look back on some of the training camp film from last year and do our best to study the things he does.”

Bradley was the first coach to stifle Herbert, something only a few coaches have done in Herbert’s 18 career NFL starts. Herbert threw an interception the first time he faced the Chargers’ first-team defense in training camp last summer.

“Yeah, he was pretty good right from Day 1,” Bradley said of Herbert. “Very athletic, very poised, very confident. Leader in his own way. I’m sure he’s probably even grown in that area, but you sure felt him on the field even in practice.”

Herbert hasn’t looked back since his skittish training camp setback. He’s broken rookie records and reached various quarterback milestones, including becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to reach 400 completions in 16 starts to start a career.

Herbert has also flourished in pressure situations by orchestrating game-winning drives and converting third downs. Herbert has 92 completions on third down that have turned into first downs, the most in the NFL since 2020.

Many of those third-down passes have gone to Chargers star wide receiver Keenan Allen, who will likely be matched against former teammate and Raiders cornerback, Casey Hayward, on Monday night.

Allen and Hayward faced each other in practice for five seasons with the Chargers. Hayward was named to two Pro Bowls as a member of the Chargers, but his production declined last season, possibly because of injuries.

The Chargers released Hayward in the offseason for cap space relief and possibly because the team shifted away from Bradley’s zone-heavy scheme. New Chargers coach Brandon Staley uses a variation of defensive schemes to create disguises for opposing quarterbacks.

Hayward followed Bradley to Las Vegas and is having a bounce-back season. He didn’t allow a pass receptionin his first two games this season and forced a game-changing safety last week in the win against the Miami Dolphins.

“Great guy, great teammate, great competitor, so it’s going to be fun,” Allen said about facing Hayward. “When Casey is ready to play, he goes pretty good. Last year, he just happened to have injuries.”

Hayward said he’s not playing to prove people wrong because he wasn’t aware of the criticism he received last season.

“I didn’t even know they said that,” Hayward, 32, said. “For the media, I don’t care what they say, good or bad. I just watch the film with our coaches and they’re going to tell me if I played good or not, so it don’t matter if they say I’m washed or not. My goal is to try to go out there and compete each and every week.

“I think they (the Raiders) brought me here to have a veteran presence and try to lead these guys and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Hayward, Bradley and many other former Chargers are reasons why the Raiders have turned it around defensively after years of being near the bottom of most statistical categories.

The Raiders ranked sixth in the NFL heading into Week 4 with a 33.3% conversion rate on third downs. They’re allowing 24 points per game and 355.7 total yards per game, ranking 15th and 14th, respectively.

Former Chargers Denzel Perryman, Damion Square, Roderic Teamer and Darius Philon are also on the Raiders’ roster, along with defensive backs coach Ron Milus, who was instrumental in developing the Chargers’ defensive backs the past eight seasons.

Perryman’s impact on the field for the Raiders might be as big as Hayward’s. The middle linebacker has been an enforcer against the run, an area Perryman excelled in with the Chargers from 2015 to 2020.

Perryman left the Chargers in the offseason to sign a two-year deal with the Carolina Panthers, but had a brief stint there and was traded to the Raiders in August.

Similar to Bradley, Perryman also played a role in Herbert’s development. The two were weightlifting partners last season. Perryman often praised Herbert for his work ethic.

“I’m a firm believer in Justin,” Perryman said. “He was my workout partner at one point. He’s a great quarterback. We know what he can do.”

The Raiders are familiar with the Chargers’ players, but the offense has drastically changed with new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.

Herbert is tasked with running various personnel groupings and has multiple options for each play. Last week, Herbert went away from a running play to throw the game-winning touchdown to Mike Williams, but left 32 seconds on the clock to give the Kansas City Chiefs an opportunity to tie or win.

Lombardi was pleased with the end result, but he said he needs to remind himself that Herbert is only in his second season.

“I need to remember that he’s not in his 20th year,” Lombardi said. “He’s in his second year. I’d say, ‘I want to hand it off here.’ Sometimes you have a run and it has a route built-in, and I have to remember to remind him of certain things that maybe I take for granted. He gets pretty aggressive on gameday. He might not have listened to me.”

Bradley’s crew likely won’t rely much on last year’s notes. They know they have their hands full against Herbert and his many weapons, but they might receive a boost in motivation.

The Chargers turned over the roster and coaching staff for Herbert’s second season. They thanked the castoffs for helping with Herbert’s development and said goodbye.

Many found another opportunity in Las Vegas to prove the Chargers wrong.

“You just treat it like a normal football game,” Perryman said. “You’re just playing football. Not a big deal (playing the Chargers).”

It probably won’t seem like just another football game when the familiar foes meet Monday night.