Eric Williams
NFL Reporter
LAS VEGAS — Daiyan Henley had his “Flu Game” moment on Monday night.
The Los Angeles Chargers linebacker led the team with 10 combined tackles to go with a sack and hauling in an interception on the first offensive play of the game in his team’s 20-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday.
With Henley battling a fever in the Chargers’ win, his teammate and All-Pro safety Derwin James couldn’t help but compare his outing to Michael Jordan’s infamous performance in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals.
“Daiyan couldn’t get out the bed all week,” James told me. “I don’t know how he played today. He was like Superman today. He didn’t make the meetings, he was in the bed but he still went out there and gave us everything he had. I’ve got a lot of respect for that man right there.”
However, 33-year-old veteran defensive back Tony Jefferson wasn’t buying it.
“We’ve all been sick and played before,” Jefferson told me. “But you’ve got to go play. We know how hard it is to do it. We’ve all dealt with it. But I told him in the training room before the game that every game in my career I’ve been sick, I usually ball out.”
Henley, who was added to the injury report shortly before Monday’s game, labored as he talked to reporters after the win. He said he played through pain throughout the game and that he sat next to an oxygen tank on the bench when he wasn’t on the field during the game to help him breathe due to a sinus infection.
The Chargers promoted linebacker Kana’i Mauga from the practice squad as insurance in case Henley couldn’t play, but he made it out to the field and had one of his best games as a pro.
“I felt my best when I made a play and felt my sh–tiest when I touched the sideline, no doubt,” Henley said. “Every time I hit the sideline, I was short of breath and needed oxygen.”
In all, the Chargers didn’t allow a touchdown, holding the Raiders to 218 total yards and deflecting a jaw-dropping 15 passes from quarterback Geno Smith. They also intercepted Smith three times in the victory.
Henley was a key to making all of that happen, according to Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh.
“Once he started playing, the medicine was out there on the field, and it was great to see him have the game that he had,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve said it, he’s a rising superstar. I’m just happy for him. He played incredible.”
A defensive co-captain for the first time in his third NFL season, Henley wants to be known as one of the best linebackers in the game. Henley recorded 142 combined tackles last season, tied for No. 11 in the NFL. He was the only player in 2024 to notch at least 120 tackles and more than seven pass breakups.
“One thing I will say is when you’re sick and feeling this way, one thing you have to be is mentally locked in because you’re physically not 100 percent,” Henley said about his play. “So, I definitely was locked in mentally, trying to make sure there were no mental errors as far as the game goes, and just make sure I could make the plays when I had to.”
After playing one of his best games as a pro in a Week 1 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Justin Herbert executed a workmanlike effort in a win over the Raiders. He finished 19 of 27 for 242 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 122.8 passer rating. Herbert also topped the Chargers with 31 rushing yards.
While Herbert has played at an MVP level for the first two weeks, the play of the defense has the Chargers believing they can make a deep playoff run if they keep improving each week.
Last year, in defensive coordinator Jesse Minter’s first season, the Chargers held teams to a league-best 17.7 points per game during the regular season. Through two games this year, the Chargers are holding teams to 15 points a game, have forced three turnovers and have five sacks on the year.
The Chargers improved to 2-0 and moved into first place alone in the AFC West. Los Angeles has not won the division since 2009, and with Kansas City struggling at 0-2, perhaps 2025 is the year for the Bolts.
“Last week, I feel like defensively we let them off the hook a little bit,” James told me. “But I feel like when we start to click together, that’s when we’re going to start playing our best football. But we don’t need to peek out right now. It’s the beginning of the year.”
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.
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