SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 22, 2013
Chargers 26, Raiders 13: Philip Rivers threw for 201 yards and a touchdown as host San Diego kept alive its slim playoff hopes.
Ryan Mathews rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown and Nick Novak kicked four field goals for the Chargers (8-7), who need to win next week and have Baltimore and Miami both lose to secure a postseason berth. The Ravens and Dolphins each lost Sunday to keep San Diego in contention.
Matt McGloin finished 20-of-36 for 206 yards with one interception for Oakland (4-11), which tumbled to its fifth consecutive loss. Darren McFadden provided the Raiders' only touchdown with a 5-yard run early in the second quarter.
The Chargers committed three first-half turnovers, the third one a fumbled punt by rookie Keenan Allen that set up Sebastian Janikowski's 20-yard field goal for a 10-10 tie at the break. McFadden's scoring run followed a fumble by Rivers, but San Diego went ahead on Mathews' 7-yard TD run three plays after Eric Weddle picked off McGloin.
Rivers put the Chargers ahead to stay with five minutes left in the third quarter, capping a 77-yard drive with a 4-yard scoring pass to Allen to make it 17-10. Novak tacked on three more field goals to extend the lead to 13 - the final one being a 33-yarder with 6:23 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Mathews finished one yard shy of his third straight 100-yard game but set a career high with 1,111 yards on the season, surpassing his previous best of 1,091 set in 2011. ... Oakland entered the game ranked second in the AFC in rushing (134.1) but was limited to 59 yards .... Allen's TD catch was his eighth of the season and fifth in the last three games.