SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 16, 2014
Chargers 13, Raiders 6: Philip Rivers threw an early touchdown pass and host San Diego made it hold up to snap a three-game losing streak and extend Oakland's skid to 16.
Rivers was 22-of-34 for 193 yards as the Chargers (6-4) won for the first time since defeating the Raiders in Oakland on Oct. 12. Ryan Mathews played for the first time since Week 2 and rushed for 70 yards for San Diego, which had a 120-71 advantage on the ground and held the ball for nearly 35 minutes.
After it scored a season-high 28 points in the loss to the Chargers last month, Oakland (0-10) managed only nine first downs and went 3-for-15 on third downs. Rookie Derek Carr, who had four TD passes in that Week 6 setback, was 16-for-34 for 172 yards while Latavius Murray registered 43 rushing yards for the Raiders.
Nick Novak missed a 48-yarder as time expired before halftime but nailed one from 52 yards out to make it 13-3 with 7:19 left in the third. The teams exchanged punts until Sebastian Janikowski cut the deficit to 13-6 on a 25-yard field goal with 4:06 to go in the game and the Raiders got the ball back with a minute left before Carr's desperation heave down the right side fell incomplete as time expired.
It took 47 seconds for the Chargers to take the lead, as Carr lost a fumble on the first snap of the game and Rivers found Malcom Floyd for a 22-yard score two plays later. Janikowski's 42-yard field goal got Oakland on the board midway through the first quarter and Novak's 23-yarder in the second gave San Diego a 10-3 lead with 4:12 left in the half.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Raiders' losing streak is three behind the franchise mark established in 1961-62, which is also tied for the second-longest slide in NFL history. ... Both teams had nine punts and Oakland P Marquette King now leads the NFL with 64. ... Novak made his first 15 attempts prior to the miss before halftime.