OAKLAND, CA – The Chargers have lost five game within a touchdown or less, and Thursday night was no different as they fell to the Raiders 26-24 in Oakland.
The Raiders snapped a four game losing streak, due to a great clock management by quarterback Derek Carr who exemplified the ‘Mamba Mentality’ on a two minute drive in the final quarter. An excellent yet poised drive by the Silver and black that was capped off by a Josh Jacobs 18-yard touchdown run with 1:02 remaining that sealed the win.
Chargers quarterback didn’t start the game great as he threw two interceptions that put them in a 10-0 deficit early in the first quarter. However Rivers did bounce back and threw two touchdown that gave the Bolts a 14-10 in the second quarter.
Carr responded with a 9-yard touchdown pass to rookie Alec Ingold for the 17-14 lead at halftime. It was the 12th touchdown by a rookie for the Raiders this season.
Rookie pass rushers Max Crosby and Clelin Ferrell came up huge in the second half for the Raiders especially as the Rivers tried to make a late scoring drive that was denied.
The Bolts defense played pretty well that resulted in Melvin Ingram sacking Carr twice for losses. Ingram finished with seven tackles also in the loss.
Chargers running back Melvin Gordon rushed for 108 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. Austin Ekeler finished with 19 yards rushing on 6 carries and one receiving touchdown.
Quarterback Philip Rivers threw two touchdowns, 207 yards but threw three interceptions.
“You give a team 10 points at their place and then you have the ball with a chance to win at the end and you have eight snaps and go nowhere, it’s going to be tough to win,” Rivers said.
Derek Carr passed for 218 yards and threw one touchdown in the win. Running back Josh Jacobs finished with 101 yards of total offense and a touchdown for Oakland.
“We just found a way to win. That says so much about our team,” Carr said. “Some nights are just tougher than others. This was just one of those nights that was just tougher. You see our team with the resilience. No one cared, No one flinched.”
The Chargers (4-6) remain in third place in the AFC West and are in danger of not making the playoff this year if they pick up another loss. The Raiders (5-4) continue to be in the drivers seat in second place in the AFC West behind the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chargers face a must win situation against the AFC West leading Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night in Mexico City at 5:15 PM PT.
