Last season's Patriots loss should give Chargers confidence vs. Raiders

The LA Chargers host the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1 in a game that has plenty of storylines attached. Not only is this game between two divisional foes who beefed up in the offseason but it is also a rematch from last season's Week 18 classic that the Chargers were on the losing end of.

Las Vegas is an interesting team for the Chargers to prepare for in Week 1. While there are not that many new faces, they have a new head coach in Josh McDaniels that is going to change the way the offense operates. The Chargers have nothing to go off of other than McDaniels' time as the offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots.

The Chargers did play the Patriots last season on Halloween and it was an ugly game for the Bolts. Los Angeles fell 27-24 at home in a game they easily could have played better in. While the game as a whole was ugly for the Chargers, it can actually inspire confidence in the Chargers ahead of the Week 1 showdown vs. the Raiders.

Josh McDaniels' offense didn't do all that well against the LA Chargers defense.

While the Chargers allowed 27 points in the game it is not like it was some offensive masterclass by the Patriots. Seven of those points were on defense as Adrian Phillips picked off Justin Herbert for a touchdown and when you get into the nuts and bolts of the game, it is clear the Pats weren't all that good offensively.

Mac Jones didn't have a great game in the slightest and the Patriots were giving him the chance to throw the ball. The rookie quarterback completed 18 of 35 passes for only 217 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

Instead, New England's only offensive success came in pounding the rock and keeping possession of the football. That was the Chargers' biggest weakness last season and that was addressed in the offseason. Plus, the Raiders do not have the infrastructure to adopt that kind of offensive game plan in Week 1, especially against a rebuilt Chargers defense.

Yes, the weapons that the Raiders have are better than what the Patriots had last season, that is without question. However, the Chargers are far more talented on the defensive side of the ball, so the talent difference between skill guys on offense and defense is probably similar to what it was last year against the Patriots.

And while Derek Carr is better than Mac Jones, the two quarterbacks are a lot closer than Raiders fans would like to admit. Carr is definitely much more like Jones than he is Tom Brady, that is for certain.

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What killed the Chargers in that game was a lack of offensive explosiveness, mainly because of great game-planning by the Patriots. The Raiders, fortunately, lack a good defense to utilize.