Quick Snap: Raiders travel to Los Angeles, fall to Chargers 26-10

Oct 07, 2018 at 03:54 PM

Eddie Paskal

Senior Writer/Editor

In front of a decidedly pro-Raiders crowd at StubHub Center in Los Angeles, the Silver and Black couldn't take advantage of the home cooking, eventually falling to the Chargers 26-10.

After drawing even with the Bolts at 3-3 in the second quarter, Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense found their groove, and combined with some quality play defensively, ended the game on an impressive 23-7 run.

While the Raiders defense once again had series where they looked really good, and made things tough for Rivers, once again, it was the big plays that ultimately led to their demise.

While there myriad moments where the Raiders had a chance to get back in the mix before things got out of hand in the second half, the turning point of the game came in the second quarter in the form of a **Martavis Bryant** fumble in that ultimately resulted in a one-yard Melvin Gordon touchdown run to extend the Chargers lead to two scores.

It was a lead that proved to be too large to overcome.

When Head Coach Jon Gruden and his team headed into the locker room, they were staring up at a 17-3 deficit, much of which was caused by chunk yardage gains – including, but not limited to, a 44-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to Austin Ekeler, as well as a 30-plus yard gain from Melvin Gordon to set up another Chargers touchdown.

Speaking of Melvin Gordon; while the Pro Bowl running back finished the Week 5 tilt with a modest 58 yards and a score, he also made sure he made got involved in the passing attack, hauling in four catches for 62 yards.

Offensively, after four straight games of getting **Marshawn Lynch** rolling, "The Beast" just didn't replicate his early season success, finishing his afternoon with just over 30 rushing yards when all was said and done.

Give the Chargers credit too; their defensive front – even without the benefit of a healthy Joey Bosa – took advantage of a Raiders offensive line lacking the services of **Donald Penn** and **Kelechi Osemele**, getting pressure on No. 4 all afternoon, bringing him down behind the line of scrimmage three times.

In addition to that pressure, Gus Bradley's group delivered the proverbial nail in the Raiders coffin in the final minutes of the third quarter, as Melvin Ingram picked off Carr in the end zone.

After driving the length of the field, instead of possibly cutting the lead to a manageable 10 points, the Silver and Black came away with nothing, and the Chargers took full advantage of the gift, marching down the field, punctuating their Week 5 win with a touchdown pass from Rivers to Virgil Green.

The Raiders did add a touchdown late – a one-yard completion from Carr to **Jordy Nelson** – but it proved to be too little, too late.

All in all, from the offensive struggles, to the big plays surrendered on defense, as well as a missed field goal on special teams, Sunday was a rough one for the Raiders, and as a result, the team now owns a 1-4 record.

The Silver and Black will fly back to Northern California Sunday evening, and then embark on a week that scheduling-wise is a bit of an oddity.

After an off day Monday (a usual work day), the team will return to work Tuesday, and then fly to London Thursday night in advance of their Week 6 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks at Wembley Stadium.

The team will practice Friday afternoon after arriving in the U.K., then have a standard Saturday before kicking off against the Seahawks Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. local.