The San Diego Chargers took down the Oakland Raiders 31-28 on Sunday
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The San Diego Chargers
from their host, division rival Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum. In thanks for the gesture, Philip Rivers and company pulled off a late 31-28 comeback victory over the winless Raiders to keep San Diego’s winning streak moving along. The win improves the Chargers’ record to 5-1 while the loss drops Oakland to 0-5.
The Raiders opened the scoring in the first minute of the game with a 77-yard toss from Carr to Andre Holmes. The Chargers answered on the following drive with an 80-yard drive of their own, capped off by a 29-yard touchdown pass from Philip Rivers to Eddie Royal.
The Chargers took their first lead on a 13 play, 85 yard drive that ate up more than seven minutes, capped off by a five-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to Malcolm Floyd. The favorites appeared to be taking over with a nice drive that gave them a lead against a rookie quarterback, but Derek Carr and the Raiders had more than a few tricks in their bag.
The Raiders scored a touchdown on the next drive, an 11-play 76-yard drive that ended in a six yard touchdown strike from Carr to James Jones. The game would go to halftime tied 14-14.
Carr came up with another big play in the third quarter to give the Raiders another lead, finding Brice Butler for a 47-yard touchdown strike to give the Raiders a 21-14 lead.
The Chargers answered on the next drive with another methodical drive that ended in a one-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to Antonio Gates.
The Raiders once again answered in the form of Carr’s fourth touchdown pass of the game, the second of the day for Andre Holmes. Carr found Holmes from six yards out to give the Raiders a 28-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers answered with a field goal, then followed that up with some late-arriving solid defense. They got the ball back with great field position thanks to a Keenan Allen punt return with roughly three minutes left, down 28-24,and from there it was the Branden Oliver show.
Oliver ran for 29 yards, including the rushing touchdown that put the Chargers up 31-28 with less than two minutes left in regulation. It was all the points they would need to put away the feisty Raiders as Derek Carr threw an interception on the ensuing drive to seal the game for San Diego.
The Chargers continue to roll through the AFC, but this game could serve as great studying material for future San Diego opponents. The Raiders had great success against the Chargers’ highly rated secondary, providing rookie Carr with the first four-touchdown game of his career.
Game Ball: Branden Oliver
While Philip Rivers was once again impressive with over 300 yards passing and three touchdowns, it was Oliver’s 100-yard performance that helped the Chargers dominate the time-of-possession with 37 minutes on offense. It was also Oliver whose big runs helped the Chargers drive down and score the game-winning touchdown.
The Chargers will move on to host the Kansas City Chiefs in an attempt to build on their stellar start while the Raiders will seek their first win of the season at home against the stingy Arizona Cardinals.
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