Chargers Drop (Literally) Another One

Bolts can't finish again in loss to the Raiders

Joey Bosa got his first NFL sack. Philip Rivers threw a historic touchdown pass. Then he threw another one.

But as has been the case for the entire 2016 season the Chargers did more good than bad, letting go of another 2nd half lead in a 34-31 loss to the Raiders in Oakland.

Once again the Chargers started well. On the fourth play of the afternoon Raiders quarterback Derek Carr tried a short pass that was intercepted by Chargers nose tackle Brandon Mebane, setting San Diego up at the Oakland 30 yard line.

But just three plays later Chargers QB Philip Rivers connected with tight end Antonio Gates, who had the ball stripped. The Raiders recovered at their own 11 yard line. In a division game on the road those kinds of opportunities cannot be squandered.

The Raiders kicked a field goal and on their next offensive snap Rivers underthrew wide receiver Travis Benjamin and the ball was picked off by Sean Smith. At that point, counting back to the end of the previous week’s loss to the Saints, the Chargers had turned the ball over five times in 10 snaps.

However, they were able to right the ship and go on a nice offensive run. Rivers hit wide receiver Tyrell Williams for a 29-yard touchdown and a 7-3 San Diego lead. The Bolts built a 10-6 lead when Rivers made a bad decision, just heaving a ball deep in the middle of the field where it was picked off by Karl Joseph, who took it to the Chargers 44 yard line.

On the next snap the Bolts defense got pressure on Carr and Bosa came clean to get his first NFL sack. The drive ended with Sebastian Janikowski hitting a 56-yard field goal, cutting the San Diego lead to 10-9 at halftime.

The 3rd quarter started as well as the Bolts could have hoped. Rivers found tight end Hunter Henry for a 59 yard gain and two plays later found running back Melvin Gordon for an 18-yard touchdown. The score tied Rivers with Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas for 10th place on the NFL’s all-time touchdown pass list.

It also set up a wild series of events. Five plays later Carr found wideout Amari Cooper for a 64-yard score, cutting the lead to 17-16.

Rivers immediately connected with Williams for 50 yards, handed off to Gordon for a 24-yard run, and found Henry for a 1-yard TD, moving Philip past Unitas and in to a tie with Hall of Famer Warren Moon for 9th place on the NFL’s all-time touchdown pass list. It also gave the Chargers a 24-16 lead.

And like clockwork, in the second half the mistakes started happening.

Oakland kicked a field goal and on the next drive Gordon fumbled to give the Raiders the ball in San Diego territory. On 4th and 2 at the Chargers 20 yard line Raiders Head Coach Jack Del Rio said go for it. Carr hit Michael Crabtree for a 20-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion was good and the Raiders led 27-24.

A bad series from the Bolts was punctuated by a 16-yard punt by rookie Drew Kaser. Oakland went 32 yards in four plays to set take a 34-24 lead. But the Bolts did not fold easily this time.

Rivers led another scoring drive, hitting Gates for a 4-yard touchdown, the 4th TD pass of the day for Rivers. San Diego’s defense responded with a 3-and-out, punctuated by Bosa’s 2nd sack, to force a punt and put the Bolts in a situation where they have failed miserably for the last two seasons:

Close game late in the 4th quarter, need points to win.

This time they responded. Rivers led a drive down to the 19 yard line. On 4th and 1 head coach Mike McCoy decided to play it conservatively and kick the field goal to tie. Kaser dropped the snap and the kick never got off. The ball hit Kaser right in the hands and he just outright dropped it.

The Chargers fall to 1-4 and have a quick turnaround. They host the Broncos on Thursday Night Football.

Contact Us