Is tonight the biggest Raiders game in Allegiant Stadium history?

The Raiders welcome the Los Angeles Chargers to Allegiant Stadium on Monday night, and the storylines could not be more plentiful.

A classic AFC West showdown between two longtime adversaries. A pair of 1-0 teams looking to make a massive early season statement. The big stage of “Monday Night Football.” The latest chapter of the Pete Carroll-Jim Harbaugh rivalry. And a clash between Geno Smith and Justin Herbert, two gunslinging quarterbacks off to roaring starts this season.

The players are bracing for a juiced-up atmosphere as a result.

“I’m going to have to try to control myself a little bit because I’m going to feel like I’m going to be so hyped up,” Raiders tight end Michael Mayer said. “So, I’ll take a couple of deep breaths and just get ready to go.”

Said wide receiver Tre Tucker: “I expect it to be rocking. It’s a divisional opponent. It’s at home. It’s Monday night. There’ll be a lot of things going around that’ll make it exciting.”

All of which begs the question: Is this the biggest Raiders game in Allegiant Stadium history?

As importantly, could this be the game that the $1.9 billion stadium finally establishes itself as the home-field advantage owner Mark Davis envisioned upon relocating the Raiders to Las Vegas from Oakland six years ago?

Allegiant officially opened in 2020, although COVID-19 delayed the participation of fans until the following year. Since then, the Raiders’ 2021 season opener against the Baltimore Ravens and the season finale against the Chargers stand out as the two biggest games ever at Allegiant Stadium.

The Raiders’ 33-27 overtime win over the Ravens in 2021 marked the first time Allegiant Stadium opened its doors to fans. The atmosphere was electric. The game was epic. And the national audience tuning in on “Monday Night Football” got a glimpse of NFL football, Las Vegas style.

The season finale against the Chargers, with a playoff spot hanging in the balance, delivered on all accounts with a charged-up crowd practically willing the Raiders to a 35-32 overtime win to punch their ticket to the playoffs.

One would be hard-pressed to recall any truly memorable Raiders home game since then.

Thanks mostly to the club’s struggles to field good teams, Allegiant Stadium has only periodically come to life as it did for those two games. Too often, the stadium has either been taken over by opposing fans or provided just a slight advantage for the home team.

For that reason and many others, it’s why Monday night’s game is so important.

Let’s take a look:

Early season statement

The 2021 season marks the only time the Raiders have reached the playoffs since arriving in Las Vegas. They began that year with a 3-0 record. They have not won two straight games to start a season since. They have been 1-3 after four games twice and 2-2 once.

The holes they dug for themselves not only sabotaged legitimate chances to make playoff runs, but they’ve also made it easier for their season ticket holders to decide to sell off their tickets to succeeding games — often to fans of the opposition — or would-be single-game fans to just watch from home.

The Raiders’ season won’t be made or broken by Monday night’s result, but a victory will clearly strengthen their outlook, and it could enhance the prospects of their fans sticking with them throughout the rest of the season.

“It’s a really big deal to have this opportunity for us because we have a couple of other prime-time games coming up later on in the schedule,” Carroll said. “And I want our guys to really embrace those opportunities.”

Carroll making his mark

Monday night’s game coincides with Carroll’s 74th birthday. He’s the oldest coach in the NFL. Good luck finding a more spry or energetic person in all of Allegiant Stadium on Monday.

A Super Bowl and college football national champion whose teams have averaged more than 10 wins per year for the last 23 seasons, Carroll is insistent on creating a winning culture in Las Vegas. He is a believer and an embracer of the type of big stages that Monday night provides — his Seattle Seahawks were 14-4 on “Monday Night Football” — and pushes his players to acknowledge and accept the ramped-up stakes of big games.

To help ensure even bigger games at Allegiant Stadium this year, while also fostering the type of mindset to excel on big stages, it’s imperative that his Raiders definitively answer Monday night’s bell.

“ ‘Monday Night Football’ has been something big to all of us for all the time we’ve been around, and we talked to the team about that,” Carroll said. “Some of our guys, when they were little kids, were dreaming about playing on Monday night. So it is a big deal. We have to handle it really well.”

Chance to build real home-field advantage

In theory, Allegiant Stadium should be a foreboding place for opposing teams to play. As the 2021 games against the Ravens and Chargers proved, when the venue is packed with Raiders fans for a high-stakes game, it’s as loud and disruptive as any stadium in the NFL.

It’s estimated that more than 80 percent of the fans at Monday night’s game will be Raiders supporters. It’s been a long time since that was the case. In fact, more often than not, the Raiders have had to operate with silent counts on offense to offset the noise being generated by opposing fans.

The Raiders know they have to do their part, but Monday night represents a chance for the team and their fans to strengthen the Las Vegas bond.

“I know ours are going to go crazy and be loud, and we’re really looking forward to it,” Carroll said. “And, I hope that we play well enough to keep them going throughout the whole four quarters.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.