In the week leading up to Sunday’s Raiders-Chargers game, head coach Jon Gruden had a lot of nice things to say about the team from Los Angeles.
Gruden praised Chargers veteran quarterback Philip Rivers for the way he works, running back Melvin Gordon for his ability as a receiver and the defense for the way it was coming on under coordinator Gus Bradley.
It turns out Gruden – for a change this season – was right on the money.
Rivers threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns, Gordon had 93 yards on the ground and 72 more as a receiver and the Chargers defense held the Raiders without a TD in a 20-6 victory over the Raiders in Oakland. The loss drops the Raiders to 1-8 this season and is the fifth straight loss for Gruden and Co. in a season of great disappointment.
The game could have gone the other way early, but a key mistake seemed to deflate the Raiders.
Oakland was up 3-0 in the second quarter with the Raiders driving deep in Chargers territory. At the time, the Raiders had 165 yards on offense vs. just six by the Chargers’ offense. But on third-and-6 from the L.A. 21-yard line, QB Derek Carr was sacked by Melvin Ingram, who also knocked the ball free. It was recovered by Corey Liuget. The Chargers then marched to a tying field goal, then put up a 91-yard touchdown drive just before halftime to take a 10-3 lead, and the Raiders never got back into the game.
Carr was sacked four times and again had little time to throw on many plays. He completed 24-of-37 passes for 243 yards, without an interception. Running back Doug Martin led the team with 61 yards on 15 carries. The biggest gain of the day, however, came on punter Johnny Townsend’s 42-yard run on a fake punt.
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According to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, this is the most lopsided losing streak in Raiders history. In those five losses, Oakland has been outscored by 99 points.
The Raiders will return to action next Sunday in Arizona against the Cardinals.
