Chargers News: Raiders Embarrass The Bolts 37-29
Oakland Raiders 37, San Diego Chargers 29
Don’t let the scoreboard fool you, this was a completely one-sided affair. The Raiders (3-3), coming out of their bye week, looked quicker and more polished than the Chargers (2-5) in all facets of the game. It was an embarrassing performance right from the get go for the Bolts in front a “home” crowd. Again the visiting Raider fans were much louder than the home crowd, and media/fans of the NFL are starting to take notice.
The San Diego Chargers’ offense was nonexistent until the 4th quarter when the Raiders had a comfortable lead and were playing soft. On the Chargers’ opening drive, Philip Rivers second throw of the game was picked off by Malcolm Smith and almost returned for pick six. Rivers forced one to Stevie Johnson on a slant route that was well covered, the ball was tipped into the air and picked by Smith.
The Raiders scored two plays later on a Latavius Murray 1-yard run.
After exchanging field goals, Derek Carr led the Raiders on a 6 play, 77-yard drive that ended with a Carr to Clive Walford 23-yard score. That pushed the lead to 17-3 early in the second quarter.
Carr finished 24/31 for 289 yards and 3 TD’s, no interceptions as he carved up the porous San Diego D all day.
On the following drive, Rivers was picked off again trying to find Keenan Allen on a comeback route. That set up the Raiders inside the red zone but penalties stalled the drive and they settled for a field goal.
Bolts D-lineman Corey Liuget was late hit by one of the Raiders’ lineman and retaliated by kicking him whiling he was laying down. The refs did not see the retaliation but flagged the offensive lineman for a personal foul. That kick by Liuget was the most fire I saw out of anybody wearing a powder blue uniform all day.
Late in first half, Carr hit his favorite target Amari Cooper on a bubble screen. With a convoy of blockers in front of him, Cooper scored on a 52-yard catch and run. Cooper finished the day with 133 yards on 5 catches and the TD. The Raiders did a good job lining Cooper up in different spots because early in the game Jason Verrett was blanketing him pretty well.
The Raiders would score on their first seven drives of the game.
The Chargers would pick up a field goal at the end of the half but the scoreboard read 30-6 Raiders heading into the locker room. I can only imagine what generic motivational speech Coach McCoy said at half time but it I’m sure it was similar to “Men, our play is pathetic. Let’s take some accountability men, this wasn’t in the game plan men. Let’s go out there and play hard men.”
The Raiders took their opening drive of the second half and marched down the field. Carr found Michael Crabtree on a 25-yard TD, that came at the expense of Brandon Flowers once again.
Rivers would then lead three drives in a row with plays of 83, 80, and 80 for touchdowns to end of the game. The first went to Ladarius Green, who was starting for the injured Antonio Gates who sprained an MCL in his knee at the end of the Packers game last week. The next two went to Danny
Woodhead, who caught a career high 11 passes for 75 yards.
Melvin Gordon also didn’t get a carry until the game was out of reach in the third quarter. He was benched by McCoy after fumbling twice in the loss last week against the Packers. His first run picked up 11 yards but finished with 29 yards on 7 carries. Brandon Oliver got the start but had just 9 carries as the game got out of hand in a hurry.
So while it may have seemed like a close game, if you (unfortunately) watched that game, it was always out of reach for the Chargers. An embarrassing effort from everyone involved yesterday and this was the first game of a stretch of games that are all “winnable” but it appears that we may just not be that good.
Injuries also took its toll (per usual) in this game:
OL – Orlando Franklin: Carted off the field with a knee injury, more information on that in the next few days.
ILB – Denzel Perryman: Left the game with an arm injury. Early reports it could be a torn bicep, which would end the rookies season. Why….WHYY!?!?!?!
That added to the fact that the Chargers were missing TE Antonio Gates and S Eric Weddle going into the game.
To end on a couple positive notes: Philip Rivers is on pace to break the single season passing yards record. He already has 2,452 yards through 7 games. Keenan Allen also has the most receptions, 62, in the first 7 games of the season in NFL history.
Top Performers:
Philip Rivers – 38/58, 336 yards, 3 TD’s, 2 INT’s
Danny Woodhead – 5 carries, 26 yards / 11 Rec, 75 yards, 2 TD’s
Keenan Allen – 9 Rec, 89 yards
Game Ball:
Danny Woodhead earns this one because he’s a beast and is such a reliable weapon on offense. Even though most of his receptions came at the end of the game against a soft defense, he still put up some impressive numbers and he won a lot of people their fantasy weeks.
Up Next:
San Diego Chargers (2-5) @ Baltimore Ravens (1-5)
Quick Preview:
The Chargers will be back on the road as they head to Baltimore for a matchup of disappointing teams. The Ravens (1-5) play on MNF against the Cardinals, and will be under dogs. They could be 1-6 when they face the Bolts. Coin flip on who wins that game next week.
Keep Bolting Up!
Nick was born and raised in San Diego where he became a Chargers and Padres fan, attending numerous home games throughout the years with his dad. He then went on to attend college at the University of Arizona. There he earned his degree in marketing and now lives in San Francisco where he dreams of the the sunny beaches of San Diego. Bear Down.