Chargers enter season opener vs. Raiders eager to wipe away the stench of 63-21

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Change is all the Los Angeles Chargers have known since Dec. 14, 2023.

Since 63-21.

Since that shocking, seismic loss to their bitter rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders, in Week 15 of last season.

That Thursday night, the stares and whispers in the visiting locker room at Allegiant Stadium dripped with shock and disbelief.

“Tough times don’t last,” tackle Rashawn Slater said then. “Tough people do.”

Early the next morning, the Chargers fired head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco. Owner Dean Spanos called for a “reimagining” of his whole operation. A month and a half later, the Chargers introduced Jim Harbaugh as their head coach. A week after that, they introduced Joe Hortiz as their general manager. A month after that, they parted ways with two franchise mainstays in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. In July, they moved into a new facility in Los Angeles County. As of this week, nearly 50 percent of the 53-man roster was not with the team in 2023.

Change upon change upon change, and 63-21 was the catalyst.

In so many ways, the Chargers have moved on and turned the page. By design, really. But no amount of reimagining can truly satiate a competitor’s nature. Call it revenge. Call it retribution. Call it pride. The Chargers — those who were there, who remember and who return — will get their chance Sunday when the Raiders come to SoFi Stadium for the regular season opener.

“Regardless of how much you played in it, people on the team last year, our name is on that,” said defensive lineman Morgan Fox. “For a lot of guys, that’s just kind of something that’s on guys’ heart about the game. Definitely trying to make a better impression and go out there and make up for what was something tough for all of us.”

There are 25 players on the Chargers’ current active roster who played in some capacity in Week 15 last season: Slater, Trey Pipkins III, Zion Johnson, Quentin Johnston, Joshua Palmer, Derwin James Jr., Asante Samuel Jr., Alohi Gilman, Khalil Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu, Fox, Ja’Sir Taylor, Derius Davis, Jamaree Salyer, Easton Stick, Brenden Jaimes, Stone Smartt, Scott Matlock, AJ Finley, Daiyan Henley, Foster Sarell, Jordan McFadden, Cameron Dicker, JK Scott and Josh Harris.

Five others remain on the roster but were inactive for the game: Justin Herbert, Joey Bosa, Deane Leonard, Otito Ogbonnia and Simi Fehoko.

Even Herbert, who was on injured reserve for the game after fracturing his right index finger, felt the ramifications of that night.

“You can’t let that happen again, and guys in that locker room, they all feel the same way,” Herbert said this week. “We don’t even have to talk about it. We know what kind of feeling it brings out.”

James was asked how he reacted when the league announced the schedule in May and he saw the Raiders were first up in Week 1.

“Let’s f—ing go,” James said.

And was that because of what happened the last time he played the Raiders?

“Yes,” James said. “You can’t embarrass me like that.”

The Chargers trailed 21-0 at the end of the first quarter in that Week 15 game. They were down 42-0 at half. After cornerback Jack Jones intercepted a pass in the backfield in the fourth quarter and returned it for a touchdown, the Raiders led 63-7.

“We left some stuff out on the field — a lot of stuff out on the field,” Johnston said this week. “We can’t really do anything but go into this game and get back what we left on the field.”

The Raiders, too, are in a different spot. For one, Telesco was hired as their general manager this offseason. They have a new starting quarterback in Gardner Minshew II, a new star defensive piece in lineman Christian Wilkins and a new offensive coordinator in Luke Getsy.

But Jones is back. And John Jenkins, the 330-pound defensive lineman who returned a fumble 44 yards for a touchdown. And Davante Adams, who had 101 yards and a touchdown. And head coach Antonio Pierce. And edge rusher Maxx Crosby. And so on.

“I think there’s definitely a little bit of an edge,” Fox said. “Not wanting that to be what people remember.”

The Chargers are ready for their performance to do the talking. To show how far they have come from Dec. 14 and how far they intend to go. As Fox put it, “Put our brand of football on tape and the brand of football we want to be known for for the rest of the season.”

To lose like that is one thing. To lose like that in a storied rivalry is another.

That is what made 63-21 such a stain, such a disaster. It happened against the Raiders.

Nick Hardwick is now the Chargers’ assistant offensive line coach. He played 11 seasons for the Chargers, starting 136 games at center.

Hardwick went 11-0 against the Raiders to start his career.

“He’s made his feelings about the Raiders clear,” Slater said this week. “That’s for sure.”

And those feelings are?

“I think there’s, like, a saying,” Slater said. “FTR, or something like that.”

What better way to usher in this new era of Chargers football than by slamming the book shut on one of the darkest moments in franchise history?

“I don’t think there’s anybody else we’d rather open the season with,” Fox said.

(Photo of Raiders’ Zamir White celebrating a touchdown in last season’s 63-21 win in Las Vegas: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)