Raiders take advantage of Chargers mistakes in 34-31 win

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree, left, catches a touchdown pass in front of San Diego Chargers cornerback Casey Hayward on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016, during the second half of an National Football League game in Oakland, Calif. The development of Carr has been crucial to the Raiders rise in the AFC, and they now sit at 4-1 on the young season.

The 4-1 start is Oakland’s best since 2002, and the win also came one day after the 5th anniversary of the passing of Al Davis. The Raiders are going to need to be prepared to deal with a monster of a team with KC next week, especially defensively where they cannot afford to give up the big plays like they did this past week against the Chargers.

If games were only three quarters long, the Chargers would be a 4-1 team looking to win an AFC West championship.

“I’m okay with 3 to 2 or 50 to 49”, Del Rio said following the game.

“We scored 34 points and we’re disappointed…”

“It just comes down to execution”, coach Jack Del Rio said.

Recovered by Joseph, Gordon fumbled the football at the Chargers’ 38-yard line. On fourth down, with Josh Lambo on to attempt a 35-yard field goal to tie the game, holder Drew Kaser fumbled away a ideal snap to seal San Diego’s 34-31 loss to the Raiders.

Tight end Hunter Henry caught three passes for 74 yards and a score for the Chargers, and tight end Antonio Gates (hamstring) returned from a two-game absence and had four catches for 30 yards and a TD. When asked about the snap after the game, Kaser had an interesting comment.

Philip Rivers threw a touchdown pass with 6:21 left in the fourth quarter to pull the Chargers within three points. “The last two weeks it’s been on the ground too many times”. After a successful two-point conversion to Cooper, the Raiders took the lead 27-24.

“It’s what you expect from a player like that, the way he’s played”, coach Mike McCoy said.

On the last play of the third quarter, Kaser shanked his only punt of the game 16 yards, giving Oakland the ball at San Diego’s 32. However, on the ensuing Raiders possession, the banged up Chargers’ secondary showed when Cooper got wide open for a walk-in 64-yard touchdown catch to bring the score to 17-16. On Sunday, the Raiders fell behind early, and Carr made a bad mistake on an interception on a middle screen. Instead, the Chargers put the pressure on Rivers to make the most with what he has on offense.

Both plays lead directly to points on the board for the Raiders, one a field goal just before halftime and the other drive was capped off with the Michael Crabtree touchdown reception. “Let’s just go and win this game”.

Carr and Cooper were happy to have one, but believed they should’ve had a few more.

RUN DEFENSE: B+The Raiders didn’t allow Chargers running back Melvin Gordon to get free very often Sunday. His moves might not be always the smartest, most calculated risks, but they are helping develop a winning attitude on this team that could pay dividends down the road.

NOTES: Raiders rookie RB DeAndre Washington made his first career start, replacing Latavius Murray (toe), who was inactive. The Broncos (4-1) lost to Atlanta 23-16 on October 9. The Eagles turned the ball over for the first time this season with 2:34 remaining when Ryan Mathews fumbled on a hit by Slay.

“Malcolm was dressed and available in an emergency, but I didn’t really want to (use him) if I didn’t have to”, Del Rio said.