SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 7, 2013
Raiders 27, Chargers 17: An elusive Terrelle Pryor returned to the lineup after missing a week due to a concussion and threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first quarter and Oakland held off visiting San Diego in an AFC West contest.
Pryor completed his first 10 passes, two of them touchdowns, and finished 18-for-23 for 221 yards as the Raiders (2-3) snapped a two-game slide. Denarius Moore had five receptions for 84 yards including one of Pryor's TD passes and Rod Streater caught a 44-yard touchdown pass on Oakland's first play from scrimmage - finishing with 56 yards on three receptions.
Philip Rivers, who had lost just once in nine trips to Oakland, completed 36-of-49 passes for 411 yards but was picked off three times. Rookie Keenan Allen caught one of the Rivers' two scoring passes on a 7-yard slant pattern and finished with 115 yards on six catches.
Oakland scored 17 points off San Diego turnovers, including a 25-yard fumble return by Charles Woodson that moved the 16-year veteran into a tie for the most defensive touchdowns (13) in NFL history. The Woodson TD gave Oakland a 24-3 lead, but San Diego made it 24-10 on Danny Woodhead's 5-yard score off a Rivers' shovel pass on
the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Chargers (2-3) further closed the gap to 24-17 on an Allen 7-yard TD catch before Sebastian Janikowski gave the Raiders breathing room with a 50-yard field goal with 4:24 to play. Pryor was Oakland's workhorse, rushing for 31 yards on 11 carries while being sacked four times trying to elude the San Diego's constant pressure behind an injury-riddled offensive line.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The game was switched to an 11:35 ET start time to give the stadium crew time to convert the field following Saturday night's Athletics' baseball game. ...The Raiders played without oft-injured tailback Darren McFadden and lost his replacement Rashad Jennings also to a hamstring injury. ...Chargers RB Ryan Mathews suffered a concussion in the second quarter after taking a knee to the helmet and did not return. He had three carries for eight yards.