Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Live coverage: Raiders close out Chargers for third straight win

Raiders vs Chargers

Wade Vandervort

Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs (28) runs the ball into the end zone as Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. (26) chases after him during the first half of an NFL football game at Allegiant Stadium Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022.

Updated Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022 | 4:04 p.m.

Raiders Defeat Chargers, 27-20

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) gestures to his fans after the Las Vegas Raiders defeat the Los Angeles Chargers, 27-20, during an NFL football game at Allegiant Stadium Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. Launch slideshow »

WEEK 13

• Who: Chargers (6-5) atRaiders (4-7)

• When: 1:25 p.m.

• Where: Allegiant Stadium

• TV: KLAS Channel 8, CBS

• Radio: Raider Nation Radio 920 AM, KOMP 92.3

• Betting line: Raiders -1, over/under 50.5

Davante Adams had 177 receiving yards and two second-half touchdowns today for the Las Vegas Raiders in a 27-20 victory against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers.

It was the third straight win for Las Vegas, who initially struggled offensively with just 50 yards in the first quarter to fall behind 10-0. But the Raiders’ defense was the difference in recording five sacks — three from Chandler Jones — and only surrendering one touchdown.

Adams had touchdown grabs of 31 and 45 yards in the initial five minutes of the third quarter, and the Raiders never trailed again. The first Adams touchdown came one play after Nate Hobbs, who was recently reinstated from injured reserve, recovered a fumble at the Los Angeles 31-yard line.

Quarterback Derek Carr passed for 250 yards and two touchdowns, overcoming an early interception return for a touchdown by the Chargers’ Bryce Callaghan.

Raiders running back Josh Jacobs had another strong game in rushing for 144 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. He picked up some tough yardage — gains of 4, 7 and 2 yards — in the final two minutes as the Raiders attempted to run out the clock.

Last week, it was Jacobs’ 86-yard scoring run in overtime at Seattle that lifted the Raiders to a win and gave the fifth-year back more than 300 total yards on the day in a close game.

Today, the Raiders prevailed again in close one, bringing their record to 5-7 on the season and — almost — back into the playoff conversation. They have another winnable game on the horizon against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday.

Check back later for more coverage.

Raiders trying to close out Chargers at Allegiant Stadium

—Ray Brewer

Davante Adams is again having his way with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Adams has his second touchdown of the second half, this one a 45-yard scoring strike from Derek Carr, to help the Raiders extend their lead to 24-20 midway through the fourth quarter.

Adams, who had 10 receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown in the Week 1 showdown with the Chargers, has seven catches for 162 yards and two scores today.

His touchdowns came in the initial five minutes of the third quarter to help Las Vegas built a 24-13 advantage.

But Los Angeles isn’t going away silently.

The Chargers cut their deficit to four points when Keenan Allen caught a 35-yard touchdown from Justin Hebert on a fourth down play with 8:34 remaining in the game.

The Las Vegas defense is having a strong game with five sacks — three from Chandler Jones — and two turnovers.

-Ray Brewer

Raiders take the lead to start second half

It took three plays in the second half for the Raiders to pull ahead of the Chargers.

Las Vegas’ Nate Hobbs recovered an Austin Ekeler fumble at the 31-yard line to give the offense a short field, and Derek Carr connected on the next play with Davante Adams for a touchdown and 17-13 Raiders lead.

Hobbs, activated this week from the injured reserved list, is making an impact with five tackles.

—Ray Brewer

Raiders down by 3 points at halftime against Chargers

Daniel Carlson’s 52-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds of the first half was slightly blocked, and the Raiders trail the Chargers 13-10 at halftime in a AFC West showdown at Allegiant Stadium.

Cameron Dicker had a pair of second quarter field goals for the Chargers, who are looking for a season sweep of Las Vegas. Las Vegas lost in Week 1, 24-19.

Josh Jacobs is leading the way for the Raiders with 61 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, while quarterback Derek Carr is 9 of 19 for 129 yards and one interception.

That interception was returned 26 yards for a touchdown by the Chargers’ Bryce Callaghan for the initial score of the game.

The Raiders’ defense has gotten plenty of pressure on Los Angeles quarterback Justin Hebert with four sacks, including three from Chandler Jones. Jones also has two tackles for a loss.

The Raiders (4-7) are playing for their third straight win in an attempt to sneak back into playoff contention.

— Ray Brewer

Josh Jacobs rushes for a touchdown, Raiders trail Chargers by 3

The Raiders gained just 49 yards in the initial quarter today against the Chargers.

That quickly changed in the second quarter, as Las Vegas marched 75 yards on eight plays and scored on Josh Jacobs’ 20-yard touchdown run to trim their deficit against Los Angeles to 10-7.

Las Vegas had a pair of turnovers in the first quarter — including a Derek Carr interception that was returned for a touchdown — but was obviously more efficient to start the second quarter.

We’ll see if that trend continues the rest of the way, as the Raiders look for their third straight win in a game that’s expected to be close.

—Ray Brewer

Raiders trail Chargers in second quarter, 10-0

The Raiders will have to rally from behind the beat the Chargers, as Los Angeles increased its lead to 10-0 on a 37-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker in the initial minute of the second quarter at Allegiant Stadium.

The Chargers’ scoring drive went 61 yards over 13 plays over 6 minutes, 35 seconds.

One week after scoring 40 points against Seattle, the Raiders are struggling to move the ball as Derek Carr is just 4 of 8 for 23 yards and an interception. Josh Jacobs has 26 rushing yards.

The Chargers’ offense has only been slightly better as Justin Hebert has completed 5 of 10 passes for 45 yards, finding Joshua Palmer three times for 23 yards.

—Ray Brewer

Raiders trail Chargers early after giving up interception return

The Raiders have committed turnovers on their last two possessions, the second of which was a Derek Carr interception that was returned 26 yards for a touchdown by the Chargers’ Bryce Callaghan for the initial score of the game.

Las Vegas has only managed 25 yards over three possessions — including Josh Jacobs losing a fumble — as the Raiders trail their AFC West rivals 7-0 at the 5:07 mark of the first quarter.

The Raiders’ defense forced the Chargers to turn the ball over on downs following Jacobs’ fumble, as Los Angeles opted to not attempt a field goal inside the Las Vegas 20-yard line.

Jacobs, who was questionable to play with a leg injury, has 22 rushing yards on five carries in looking to build off last week’s 300 total yard effort in the overtime win at Seattle

—Ray Brewer

Raiders healthier than Chargers heading into AFC West battle

The pre-kickoff injury news for the Raiders ahead of today’s game against the Chargers turned out mostly positive.

Las Vegas had four players listed as questionable, and only one of them — defensive tackle Andrew Billings, who hurt his leg last week in Seattle — is inactive. Running back Josh Jacobs (calf), linebacker Denzel Perryman (wrist) and running back Brandon Bolden (calf) will all play.

The Chargers will be more weakened with a pair of key players — wide receiver Mike Williams and center Corey Linsley — inactive as expected. None of the Raiders’ five inactives next to Billings were a major surprise — running back Brittain Brown, cornerback Tyler Hall, tight end Jesper Horsted, defensive tackle Neil Farrll Jr. and defensive tackle Kendal Vickers.

Rookie defensive tackle Matthew Butler has been inactive more often than the final two on that list but will get the chance to play today.

Las Vegas should also be buoyed by the return of top cornerback Nate Hobbs, who was activated from injured reserve coming off a broken left hand earlier this week.

Pregame

It was easy to write off the Raiders’ chances at salvaging their season last month when they lost three straight games to teams with losing records — the Saints, Jaguars and Colts — but it might have been premature.

Las Vegas has since won two straight, beating both the Broncos and Seahawks in overtime on the road, and could get right in the thick of the AFC wild card race if it lives up to expectations over the next month. The Raiders are currently favored to win each of their next four games, but the toughest one comes today against the visiting Chargers.

Las Vegas will be looking to avenge a 24-19 Week 1 loss in Los Angeles, a game that statistically was so close it could have gone either way.

That’s typical for showdowns between the Chargers and Raiders. Two of the last five games between the AFC West rivals — since Justin Herbert stepped in as the Chargers’ quarterback — have gone to overtime. The Chargers have won three of the last five meetings overall, but only outscored the Raiders by a combined 13 points.

Favorable matchup: Josh Jacobs vs. Chargers’ run defense

The Chargers’ rush defense was their biggest weakness from a year ago and ultimately killed their chances at the playoffs when Jacobs ran for what at the time was a career-high 132 yards in a Raiders win in Week 18. The organization was confident it addressed the shortcoming this offseason, but the Chargers have arguably been even worse this season. They’re giving up an NFL-worst 5.4 yards per rush attempt. Meanwhile, Jacobs is the NFL’s leading rusher with 1,159 rushing yards coming off a franchise-record 229 rushing yards in last week’s 40-34 victory over the Seahawks. Las Vegas’ new coaching staff wasn’t fully committed to Jacobs when the two teams met in Week 1, with the star running back getting only 10 carries for 57 yards. That’s changed now, as Jacobs has almost unquestionably been the best every-down back in the NFL this season. The Chargers will need to make major schematic changes if they want to contain Jacobs this time around.

THEY SAID IT

“If it was, maybe we should have done it earlier.” -Coach Josh McDaniels when asked if quarterback Derek Carr’s emotional address in a news conference after the loss to the Colts feels like a turning point in the Raiders’ season

•••

“I ain’t gonna lie: This (Nickelodeon Valuable Player Award) is harder than the Player of the Week (award). At least I get a trophy, a little something I can hang up in my man cave. That’s dope.” -Running back Josh Jacobs on why winning the weekly Nickelodeon award — which comes with 10 pounds of slime, a trophy and other merchandise from the television channel — meant more to him than being named AFC Offensive Player of the Week

•••

“We’re always trying to be a balanced attack, but I don’t know, we’re probably all Wing-T this week and triple option.” -Quarterback Derek Carr joking on how Jacobs’ recent tear will change the offense

•••

“Mentally, it took a day or two to adjust. I was pretty upset when I first got that news, but I try to control what I can control and the only thing I could control was my attitude and the way I approached every day.” -Cornerback Nate Hobbs on dealing with broken left hand suffered in Week 5 that required surgery and kept him out of practice until last week with an expected return to the field against the Chargers

Problematic matchup: Josh McDaniels’ in-game decision making vs. Chargers aggression

The Raiders’ first-year coach might have gotten too much heat for the team’s poor start, but now he’s not getting enough scrutiny for a series of poor strategic choices last week in Seattle. That’s the nature of the NFL, where wins and losses overshadow everything, but the Raiders will need more out of their play-caller and primary decision-maker if they want to pull off the improbable turnaround of their season. Among McDaniels’ mistakes last week were settling for a trio of field goals — two deep in Seattle territory and another from 56 yards in overtime — that all publicly available mathematical models said cut into the Raiders’ win probability. Chargers counterpart Brandon Staley has taken a lot of heat for his own decisions over the past two years but most, though not all, have been supported from an analytical perspective. The Raiders’ players never publicly endorsed McDaniels louder than after a 30-29 loss at Kansas City in Week 5 when the coach implemented a more aggressive game plan. If McDaniels wants to give his team the best chance to win tight games, he’ll need to get back into that mindset.

Gamebreaker: Left tackle Kolton Miller

The leader of the Raiders’ offensive line had one of his worst games since his rookie season in the first meeting against the Chargers this year. He was routinely beaten by former Raiders Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack, who had three sacks, four quarterback hits, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Miller must be better in the rematch against the Chargers but it’s not going to be easy. He’s not 100% healthy with a lingering shoulder injury that kept him out of the win two weeks ago against the Broncos. Miller returned last week in Seattle and played well but the Seahawks’ pass rush isn’t as accomplished as the Chargers’ one he’s up against today. It could help that the Raiders are using “heavy” personnel more often than they did early in the season, where they bring in an extra blocker — almost always reserve rookie tackle Thayer Munford — on the offensive line. Tight end Foster Moreau is also a strong blocker and has stayed at home to pass protect as much as he’s run routes.

Big Number: 6

That’s the number of players in league history since the NFL/AFL merger who had a game with more than the 303 scrimmage yards that Jacobs produced last week against the Seahawks. Jacobs had the seventh-most prolific game of all-time in the victory, and the most yards since Nov. 8, 2015, when then-Steelers receiver Antonio Brown exploded for 306 yards in a 38-35 win over the Raiders. He’s also now on pace to break Marcus Allen’s franchise record of 1,759 rushing yards in his 1985 MVP season. Jacobs seems to be setting new records or joining exclusive company every week, but he swears he’s never aware of any of it until media members tell him after games or in the locker room. “I’m not that person,” Jacobs said. “I never set goals. I know a lot of people say it’s good to have goals for this, that and the third, but I’m not a person that really believes in that. I believe in you coming in to work each day to the best of your abilities, and everything else will take care of itself.”

Best Bet (5-6): Austin Ekeler over 6.5 receptions at +115

The Chargers’ running back has caught at least seven passes in all but four games this season, so there’s no reason this should be available at such a high plus-price. If the first game between these teams is any indication, the Raiders will be focused on not letting Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert beat them deep. That means a lot of checkdown passes, and Ekeler is Herbert’s go-to option for checkdown passes. Las Vegas defended Ekeler well in the first game, as he had 18 total touches for 72 yards, but hasn’t performed as well against receiving backs as the season has gone on. It would be a surprise if anyone other than Ekeler posted the highest receptions total in today’s game.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or