After a week in which the entire team had been criticized and whispers about a locker room that had suddenly turned against head coach Hue Jackson were the focus, the Oakland Raiders played like champions on Thursday night, while defeating the San Diego Chargers on the road, 24-17, at Qualcomm Stadium.
Quarterback Carson Palmer completed 70 percent of his passes, (14-20), threw two touchdowns, an interception, and passed for 299 yards for a quarterback rating of 125.0. Palmer set a Raiders record of 14.9 yards-per-attempt by beating Daryl Lamonica’s record of 14.3 yards-per-attempt in 1968 – and he wasn’t the star of the game.
It was a night of many stars.
Michael Bush nearly set a record as well. His near-miss was for most yards from scrimmage with 242 yards (157 rushing, 85 receiving) – Clem Daniels set the record of 256 yards Dec. 22, 1963. Bush carried the ball 30 times and averaged 5.2 yards-per-carry, while ripping off runs of 44 and 30 yards.
Denarius Moore made a highlight-reel reception, two touchdown grabs, and led all players with 123 yards on five receptions.
But top performers weren’t limited to the Raiders’ offense. The defense got involved as well with six sacks, six quarterback hits, two fumbles forced, and an interception
Linebacker Kamerion Wimbley racked up four of the Raiders’ six sacks and pressured San Diego quarterback Phillip Rivers most of the night. To go along with his sacks, Wimbley also recorded five quarterback hits, four tackles for loss, a pass defensed, and led the team with seven tackles.
It wasn’t a perfect game for Oakland, but it was a win.
The play of the Silver and Black started off rocky, but the team soon put together consistent plays to take a first half advantage.
Patrick Crayton received Shane Lechler’s 60-yard punt, just after the Raiders’ offense gained no yards on their opening drive. Crayton, the former Cowboy, didn’t return the ball, but instead he set up the Music City Miracle play by throwing the ball across the field to Marcus Gilchrest. The play stunned the Raiders’ punt coverage enough to allow Gilchrest to run free down the left sideline to the Raiders’ 40 yard line.
It took the Chargers just two plays to move the ball to the Oakland 11 yard line. Philip Rivers completed his first pass on San Diego’s first offensive play to rookie wide receiver Vincent Brown on a play that went for 13 yards. On the next play, Ryan Mathews gained 16 yards on his first rush of the game. Just a little over two minutes into the game, San Diego was on the verge of putting the Raiders’ backs to the wall.
After an illegal formation, Oakland defensive lineman, Desmond Bryant, broke through San Diego’s line to take down Mathews for a loss of five yards. On second and 20 from the Raiders’ 21, Rivers was able to find Mathews in the left flat for a gain of 19 yards.
With a third-and-one play from the Oakland two, San Diego Head Coach Norv Turner called a pass play, rather than attempt to punch it in on the ground – the result was an incomplete pass. Placekicker Nick Novak easily split the uprights on a 20-yard try to give San Diego the lead just 4:20 into the contest.
The Raiders picked up their first, first down of the game on the ensuing drive when Michael Bush opened up the possession with a 44-yard run between the left guard and tackle. The drive would stall at the Chargers’ 31 yard line, but due to Sebastian Janikowski still ailing from a pulled hamstring, Shane Lechler came on the field to punt.
Lechler didn’t punt the ball.
Instead, the Pro-Bowl kicker, and emergency quarterback, tossed deep down the right sideline to Jacoby Ford. Ford, who was being covered by Chargers’ cornerback, Quentin Jammer, was practically run over by the defensive back. Flags came out, but NFL rules prohibit pass interference penalties against the outside receiver when the offense lines up in a punt formation.
Ford would get an opportunity for another long pass on the Raiders’ next possession – except this time he’d make the catch at the cost of his own health.
Using a no-huddle attack, Bush moved the ball on the ground the first three plays of the drive with a bruising seven yards. After Bush’s effort and an encroachment penalty, the Raiders were on their own 26, and needing eight yards on second down. Jackson put the next play on the shoulders of his quarterback, and Palmer shared the responsibility with Ford.
Ford beat his defender, Dante Hughes, down the left sideline, Palmer tossed it a little behind the second-year receiver, and Ford came back a step to make the 41-yard catch. In the process of making the play, Ford’s left foot got tangled up with Hughes.
The receiver got up to walk, and quickly kneeled down to one knee. Ford was helped off the field by two trainers and into the locker room by a cart. He was later on the sidelines in street clothes and on crutches.
Despite the loss of one playmaker, the Raiders relied on another. Bush ran the ball four of the next five plays for 14 yards and finished the drive with a diving goal-line touchdown over the middle of the line. With just 41 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Oakland took a 7-3 lead they would hold the rest of the game.
The score turned momentum to the Raiders’ sideline. On the Chargers’ ensuing drive, the defense came onto the field energized, and Rivers felt the brunt of it.
On the Chargers’ first play of the drive, Rivers was hammered while trying to get a pass off to a receiver standing near the left sideline. On third down and eight, Wimbley got a piece of the quarterback with a crushing sack – resulting in a turnover by punt.
With momentum clearly in their favor, and Bush winded from the previous drive, Jackson called on rookie Taiwan Jones. The speedy tailback from Eastern Washington nearly broke a long run on his second carry from scrimmage, but was stopped by Chargers defensive back Eric Weddle for a 12-yard gain.
Jones’ speed and the near-touchdown run put San Diego on their heels, and before they could find stable ground, Palmer was throwing deep to Moore for a 46-yard gain to the Chargers’ 13 yard line.
The pass was nearly overthrown. Moore extended his arms in front of him, and barely snagged the ball with his fingertips before tumbling forward – somehow keeping the ball from touching the ground as he tumbled with Jammer rolling over him.
Bush came back in the game on third down needing two yards to move the chains, but was stopped at the line of scrimmage. Janikowski came on for a 23-yard knuckleball-like field goal to give the Raiders a seven-point lead with 11:05 remaining in the half.
The Chargers again went three and out, but mainly due to a vicious hit on Brown by Mike Mitchell during a third down play. Brown, who was in the process of catching a first-down pass play, was hammered by Mitchell as the ball got to him. Mitchell’s hit landed Brown on the ground; face first in grass, and without a ball in tow.
With 2:22 remaining in the first half, the Raiders took possession at their own 44, after a 21-yard punt return by Moore. This drive would take two plays – both passes by Palmer – and the Raiders would take a commanding 17-3 lead.
On the first play, Palmer took advantage of the Chargers’ defense with a delayed screen to Bush, who rambled up the field for a 23-yard gain at the two-minute warning. On the next play, Palmer was forced to scramble in the pocket before finding Moore crossing deep over the middle at the one yard line – Moore caught the ball and lunged over the goal line for the score.
The Raiders would enjoy their two-touchdown lead just long enough for the Chargers to get the ball to open the second half. Rivers and the Chargers put together an eight-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to Brown – who made the highlight grab between cornerback Stanford Routt and safety Matt Giordano.
The touchdown reception was the first of Brown’s career.
As was the case just four days ago, the Raiders were on the verge of letting up a sizeable halftime lead in the third quarter.
Palmer, Bush, and Moore weren’t about to let that happen. An illegal formation penalty forced Oakland into a third-and-nine situation from their 16. Rather than panic, and go for a deep pass play, Palmer tossed the ball to Bush on a screen over the middle that resulted in a 55-yard catch and run for the hefty tailback out of Louisville.
Two plays later, with Bush on the bench getting a breather, Palmer struck deep down the right sideline to Moore for a 26-yard touchdown play. The score put the Raiders on top 24-10, with 9:01 left in the third quarter.
Down two scores once again, San Diego didn’t flinch. Rivers guided the offense from the Chargers’ 30 yard line to the Oakland 28 before the drive was halted by the Silver and Black. Novack attempted a 46-yard field goal that missed wide right to give the Raiders a reprieve.
It was only the second time this season the fourth-year veteran had missed a field-goal opportunity.
The Chargers would get another opportunity quickly, and this time they would take advantage of it. Palmer, who had gone the entire game without a turnover, was hit from behind while trying to get the ball out of his hand, and fumbled the ball to the Chargers’ 48 yard line – where the home team recovered.
The Chargers offense needed just seven plays and a seven-yard pass from Rivers to fullback Jacob Hester on the last play of the third quarter – bringing the Bolts back to within seven, 24-17.
The touchdown pass was the second of the drive by Rivers. Three plays earlier, Rivers tossed a 33-yard bomb to Brown at the left front corner of the end zone. Brown, while tangled up with Raiders’ corner Lito Sheppard, made a great grab, but while the ball was still bobbling in his hands, both Brown’s shoulder and Sheppard’s back touched the sideline – forcing the official review to call the pass an incompletion.
With the reversal the Chargers were forced to drive down the field three more plays for their score. One of those plays was a big fourth-and-one pass to the right flat to tailback Mike Tolbert, who ran over a Raiders defender to turn the completion into a 17 yard first-down play.
The Raiders, undeterred by the narrowing gap on the scoreboard, drove down the field from their own 20. Bush ripped off a 30-yard run to put the Silver and Black Chargers’ 18 yard line, and in position to re-extend the lead.
After three quarters of play, Palmer’s quarterback rating was a perfect 158.3, but that was about to end. On first down, Palmer was looking at an open Louis Murphy at the five yard line, but before he could get the pass off, he was blindsided by Travis LaBoy with his arm in motion – causing the ball to float far short of its target.
Chargers’ safety Paul Oliver benefited from the throw with an interception at the San Diego eight yard line. The defender was soon pushed out of bounds at the San Diego 12 yard line.
As with most Raiders games, the flags began coming out regularly. After the interception, Chargers’ defensive lineman Vaughn Martin was called for unnecessary roughness. Since the penalty was called after the interception, San Diego was forced to begin their possession from the six yard line.
Mathews took the handoff on the first play of the San Diego drive, and was tackled in the end zone after some dancing in the backfield. Instead of the possible safety, another flag was thrown – this time on the Raiders. Defensive lineman Tommy Kelly had lined up offsides – nullifying the play and giving the Chargers new life on their own 11 yard line.
After the Chargers converted the first down, Routt was called for defensive holding on second down and 10 yards needed to move the chains.
San Diego was unable to gain a yard with their fresh set of downs – forcing them to send out the punt team Mike Scifres booted a 61-yard bomb to Moore, but safety Jerome Boyd had already been called for a foul before the rookie could return it. The foul was holding, and it gave the Chargers their second free set of downs on their 27 yard line.
After a Tolbert run for a yard, Rivers was nearly picked off twice – first by Sheppard and then by linebacker Aaron Curry. Finally, the Raiders got the ball back without committing a penalty that would give the Chargers another first down.
Unfortunately for Oakland, their offense wasn’t able to do anything with the ball – giving possession back to San Diego with 6:48 remaining.
The Chargers’ began moving the ball down the field from their own 11; but once again, the Raiders’ defense came up big when it mattered. Rivers led the offense on a methodical drive that moved the ball to the Raiders’ 37 yard line on seven plays before disaster striking San Diego.
On first down, Desmond Bryant took matters into his own hands by breaking free through the line and sacking Rivers for a five-yard loss. On the next play, Rivers heaved a jump ball into the end zone to Vincent Jackson, who was being chased by Routt and Giordano.
Jackson, who held out a year ago for a big contract, wasn’t looking for the pass, but Giordano was. The veteran safety jumped behind Jackson and made a bread-basket catch in the end zone. The pick surprised Jackson, who was then juked by Giordano, who ran it out of the end zone to the Raiders’ 26 yard line.
With 3:21 left to play it was up to the Raiders’ offense to salt the game away – they came one yard and 1:04 from accomplishing that feat. Palmer threaded a pass to tight end Kevin Boss for 24 yards on third and 11, but on third and 12 from their own 47 yard line, Bush was only able to pick up 11 yards on the ground.
The Chargers, with 1:04 remaining and no timeouts, drove from their 11 to midfield. Having a first down on the 50 yard line with the clock ticking, Rivers quickly took the snap and grounded the ball with just 14 seconds remaining.
With time on the clock for two plays, Rivers set up in the shotgun formation to attempt a Hail Mary pass. Wimbley logged his fourth sack of the game, but while being sacked, Rivers attempted a Holy Roller underhand pass up the field.
The officials didn’t buy the pass, and ruled the play as a sack. They also started the clock again.
With the clock winding down, Rivers was able to get one final play off. This time, Kelly sacked the quarterback and forced a game-ending fumble that was recovered by defensive lineman Lamarr Houston.
The victory elevates the Raiders to first place in the AFC West, one-half game ahead of the 4-4 Kansas City Chiefs.
They’ll have a little more than a week to prepare for another road contest against the 2-6 Minnesota Vikings.
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