The Raiders nearly pulled off a big-time comeback against the Chargers with rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell.
But in the end, Los Angeles’ defense got a big stop for the second straight week and L.A. came away with a 24-17 victory.
The Chargers were in control of the game for most of the afternoon and had a 24-7 lead at halftime.
But a Daniel Carlson 22-yard field goal made the score 24-10 and things really got interesting in the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Justin Herbert injured the middle finger of his non-throwing hand after tossing an interception. He apparently got the finger stuck in the helmet of an opposing player and went to the blue medical tent to be evaluated.
Herbert didn’t miss a snap, as he got back on the field with his hand heavily taped and wearing a brace on the middle finger of his left hand. He would later put a glove over it for the rest of the game.
But Herbert’s play was clearly impacted, as he wasn’t taking snaps under center and appeared to have some trouble with handoffs.
Raiders running back Josh Jacobs took in a 1-yard touchdown with 3:59 left, converting on fourth-and-goal to make the score 24-17.
On the ensuing drive, the Chargers faced a similar situation to last week where they elected to go for it deep in their own territory to try and win the game. But even with Herbert dealing with his finger injury, Los Angeles called a QB sneak with the offense lining up for an Eagles-style tush push on fourth-and-1.
Herbert didn’t get close to converting.
The Raiders took over at the Chargers’ 34-yard line and converted fourth-and-10 with a pass from O’Connell to Davante Adams that went out of bounds at the 3-yard line.
But on the next play, O’Connell tossed an interception to Asante Samuel Jr. while looking for Jakobi Meyers, ending Las Vegas’ threat.
Needing a first down to close the game, Herbert hit Joshua Palmer with a deep ball that gained 51 yards on third-and-10. Herbert took a few knees and that ended the contest.
Herbert finished 13-of-24 for 167 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also rushed for 27 yards with two TDs.
Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack set a new single-game franchise record and a new career-high with 6.0 sacks. His previous high was 5.0 sacks, which he registered for the Raiders in 2015.
O’Connell ended his debut 24-of-39 for 238 yards with an interception and two lost fumbles. He also had a rushing TD on a 1-yard run.
While Adams was evaluated for a shoulder injury during the first half, he came back into the game soon after. He finished with eight catches for 75 yards.
Now at 2-2, the Chargers are one of four teams with a Week 5 bye. That’s good news for a club that played without stars like Joey Bosa, Derwin James, and Austin Ekeler on Sunday.
The 1-3 Raiders will host the Packers next week on Monday night.