What can the Raiders learn from the Chargers’ turnaround this year?

The Chargers left Las Vegas with several questions to answer after losing 63-21 to the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Dec. 14, 2023.

A playoff berth seemed a long way off at that point. General manager Tom Telesco and coach Brandon Staley were fired the next day.

It didn’t take long for Los Angeles to find solutions.

The Chargers (10-6) are headed to the postseason a year later and appear to be a team on the rise in the AFC. The Raiders (4-12), on the other hand, are going through a disappointing campaign that will end at home Sunday against Los Angeles.

If they are looking for a blueprint for how to turn things around, the Chargers might be a good place to start. Here are three things the Raiders can learn from their AFC West rivals:

1. Figure out the QB situation

Quarterback Justin Herbert has an elite right arm and can complete any throw Los Angeles asks him to. He also has plenty of athleticism to make plays with his legs and threaten defenses on the run.

In short, Herbert has all the tools a team could want in a franchise quarterback. The Chargers got him with the sixth pick in the 2020 draft under Telesco, who is now the Raiders general manager.

Herbert is the exact kind of player Telesco needs to find for his new franchise.

It won’t be easy.

This isn’t considered a great draft for quarterbacks and the Raiders have played themselves out of the top five with their recent two-game winning streak. But Herbert was the third quarterback taken in his class behind Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa.

The Chargers identified him, developed him and now have him thriving under center.

That’s in part because the team identified the perfect man to get the most out of him.

2. Hire the right coach

Staley did a lot of good things early in his tenure, helping Los Angeles post back-to-back winning seasons in 2021 and 2022.

But then things regressed and he wound up out of a job.

Enter Jim Harbaugh.

The former 49ers coach, fresh off winning a college national championship at Michigan, has shaped the Chargers in his own image despite keeping many of Staley’s players around. Los Angeles looks like a Harbaugh team on tape. The Chargers have given Herbert a strong running game and stout defense that’s allowed the quarterback to shine without having to be a superhero every week.

Harbaugh’s immediate success shows how critical it is to have the right person running the show on game day. Is Antonio Pierce that guy for the Raiders? Maybe.

But the franchise needs to get its quarterback-coach pairing right if it wants to compete with Harbaugh and Herbert, let alone the Chiefs’ Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.

3. Pressure the QB

The Chargers have playmakers at all three levels of the defense and have turned them loose in a scheme that fits their personnel.

That’s huge.

But the biggest indicator of success for a defense is the ability to get after the passer, which leads to third-down stops and turnovers.

The Chargers lead the NFL in scoring defense (17.6 points allowed per game) largely because they are tied for the fifth-most sacks (46).

It’s proving to be a winning formula. It’s also one Raiders should be able to emulate soon given all the talent on their defensive line.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.