The Oakland Raiders played the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night football. It was a big game for both teams since both are in the playoff hunt. The Raiders overcame some crucial penalties to pull out a 26-24 win.
The Chargers took a 24-20 lead late in the fourth quarter on a Phillip RIvers to Austin Ekeler 6-yard touchdown pass. After that, Derek Carr led the Raiders down the field, completing three passes to Jalen Richard and two to Hunter Renfrow. The drive was capped off by a Josh Jacobs touchdown run. Kicker Daniel Carlson missed the extra point and the Raiders only led by two. On the last Chargers drive, Raiders safety Karl Joesph intercepted a Phillip Rivers pass to seal the deal.
Pass rush got after Rivers
Oakland Raiders came into the game with just 15 sacks on the season. Against the Chargers, they had five. Clelin Ferrell had 2.5, Benson Mayowa 1.5, Maurice Hurst .5, and Max Crosby .5 sacks. Rookie Clein Ferrell followed up his excellent game from last week with eight tackles along with his 2.5 sacks. It is finally starting to look like the player the Raiders thought he was. He will need to keep this up for the Raider's defense to continue to grow. Pressuring the quarterback will be key every week.
Raiders Defense forced turnovers
Along with the awesome pass rush the Raiders secondary intercepted three passes. Safety Erik Harris intercepted two passes and took one in for a touchdown. Harris could have had a third INT but defensive end Max Crosby lined up offsides. Also, safety Karl Joesph sealed the game with his loan INT. As a whole, the Raiders secondary did a pretty good job in coverage. Rivers on passed for 207 yards and had a 57.5 passer rating.
No turnovers
The Raiders offense struggled at times, Derek Carr missed some throws early in the game and looked out of sink. Carr passed 218 yards on 21 out of 31 passing. He also threw one touchdown pass. The critical thing was, Carr did not turn the ball over, Chargers took a lot plays down the field, so Carr had to settle for a lot of underneath routes. If you win the turnover battle in the NFL, you will more than likely win the game.
Conclusion
I like what i see from the Raiders; they are a young team that is learning how to win. I like the fact that all of the rookies are making plays for the team. Renfrow caught four passes for 42 yards, and two clutch catches on the final drive.
Josh Jacobs rushed for 71 yards rushing on 16 carries and had the game-clinching touchdown. And with Ferrell starting to contribute, the sky is the limit for this rookie class. The one thing the Raiders need to do is cut out the dumb penalties, they will cost you the game. It will be interesting to see how the rest of this season plays out for the Raiders.
