The Chargers eked out a Week 4 victory to get back to .500 on Sunday, defeating the Raiders 24-17 in a game that should not have been that close.
With the bye week to follow, Los Angeles still has plenty to clean up, but there are also flashes of a great team showing. Here’s what to take away from their performance against Las Vegas.
Khalil Mack saw your tweets
Without Joey Bosa on Sunday, many people pointed to rookie Tuli Tuipulotu as the pass rusher who would need to step up against the Raiders. But there was also plenty of discussion about Mack, the 32-year-old former Defensive Player of the Year who had yet to record a sack coming into this game.
Mack had been stellar in run defense all season, but his pass rush win rate was one of the worst in the league. There was discussion about whether he was over the hill or not, both from national pundits and fans. Even dating back to last season, Mack only had six sacks as a Charger.
Well, turn back the clock and double that number. Against his former team on Sunday, Mack feasted even as the most obvious threat on the edge for Los Angeles. His six sacks were tied for the second most in a single game in NFL history and set a Chargers single-game record. Mack also forced two fumbles on Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell, one of which turned into a Chargers touchdown. (The other was recovered by Las Vegas.) Lined up over either tackle on Sunday, Mack was unstoppable, and his takeover on the defensive side of the ball was a huge reason the Chargers came away victorious.
Justin Herbert in the clutch
This was not Herbert’s best game – he had only 24 passing attempts, completing just over half of them for 167 yards, with one touchdown and his first interception of the season. That yardage total was the lowest of his NFL career. The interception came on a desperation heave to Keenan Allen on a third and long that came nowhere close to his intended receiver.
During that interception’s return, Herbert either had his hand stepped on or got it caught in a Raiders’ facemask. The training staff rushed out to wrap his left hand in a towel and spent a long while in the medical tent working on a solution for him to continue playing. Ultimately, Herbert returned to the field with a splint on his left middle finger, forcing him to the shotgun for the rest of the game.
That finger prevented Herbert from extending the ball over the line to gain on a crucial 4th and 1 towards the end of the game, and it briefly looked as though the Raiders would be in position to tie the game. But Asante Samuel Jr. intercepted Aidan O’Connell at the goal line and gave the Chargers another chance to ice it. After run plays to Joshua Kelley and Derius Davis evened out to set up a third and 10 from the Chargers 11, it looked like LA would have to punt the ball away and win the game on defense again.
Instead, Herbert uncorked a beautiful throw down the sideline to Josh Palmer, who made a fingertip catch for 51 yards to seal the victory. It was Herbert’s best throw of the game, and it came in the biggest moment possible.
Run defense: hot or not?
It didn’t seem like the run defense had a particularly good day watching the game live, but the stats show a defense that held the Raiders to just 76 yards on 3.3 per carry. Star running back Josh Jacobs finished with just 58 yards and did not have a run longer than 9 yards all afternoon.
Part of this is because of the game state – the Chargers led 24-7 at one point – and Jacobs added 81 yards receiving on eight receptions because O’Connell checked the ball down frequently. Still, it’s a solid performance from a Chargers team that let an atrocious Vikings running attack produce against them last week. The fact that the Raiders didn’t is worthy of at least a little credit.
In fact, this game was the best display of Brandon Staley’s defensive philosophy this season. Very few of O’Connell’s passing yards came on deep passes, with most of his throws targeted underneath. Even the receptions that gained substantial yardage seemed to be primarily after the catch. The Chargers largely vacated the short areas of the field to sell out to stop the deep pass, but they did rally to make the stop more often than not. If they can continue that momentum through the bye week, the defense may finally be competent.
Tale of two halves
The Chargers went into the halftime locker room leading 24-7. They scored on four of their first six drives, going three and out just once. The defense forced two fumbles and four three-and-outs, holding the Raiders offense to just 76 yards of total offense through two quarters.
In short, it looked like Los Angeles would be able to cruise to a victory. But we’ve all seen the Chargers play football before. It’s never that simple.
LA did not score another point in the game, going three and out twice with an interception and turnover on downs mixed in before kneeling in their final drive. After being held to a three and out to open the half, Vegas rattled off drives of 13, 12, 12, and 6 plays in their quest to come back, putting up 188 yards of total offense in that time. The Chargers held the ball for just 8 minutes and 58 seconds of the second half.
In short, it felt like a game the Chargers were going to let slip through their fingers.
They managed to hang on and the old mantra rang true: a win is a win.
