Chargers-Raiders quarter by quarter highlights

Here's a quick look at some of the key plays in the Bolts' victory in Oakland.

 

 

The Bolts got off to a slow start before a late-arriving sellout crowd at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum as Oakland jumped out to a 5-0 first quarter lead. The Raiders scored on a field goal and a safety after Philip Rivers jumped on a loose ball in the end zone and was tackled by a Raiders defender.

 

Key Plays in the Quarter: On the opening series when the Raiders scored the field goal, Shaun Phillips helped prevent a touchdown with a five-yard sack on second-and-goal and Antoine Cason made a nice open-field tackle at the five on third-and-goal. Shane Lechler’s 70-yard punt forced the Chargers to start their second drive of the game at their own five-yard line. On first down, Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson had trouble connecting on a handoff and the resulting loose ball rolled into end zone where Rivers fell on it for the safety. Down 5-0, Jyles Tucker helped force an Oakland three-and-out with a seven-yard sack on third-and-two. The defense forces another punt on the Raiders’ next series when Marques Harris had a two-yard tackle for loss on second-and-nine, leading to a deep pass on third-down to Johnnie Lee Higgins that is broken up by Clinton Hart as Luis Castillo and Jyles Tucker pressure JaMarcus Russell on the throw.

 

 

 

The Raiders complete a first-half shutout of the Bolts by outscoring San Diego 10-0 in the second quarter. Tight end Zach Miller hauls in a 63-yard TD catch and outraces several Bolts to the end zone, and minutes later, the Raiders miss a golden opportunity to stretch out their lead and settle for a 29-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski. The Bolts have a chance to get their first score of the game late in the quarter, but two late sacks back up the SD offense and Nate Kaeding’s 44-yard field goal attempt is blocked.

 

Key Plays in the Quarter: Up 12-0 after the Miller TD, the Raiders kick a 31-yard field goal but pull the points off the board when Matt Wilhelm is flagged for illegal formation on the try. Three plays later on third-and-goal, Quentin Jammer makes a touchdown-saving tackle of Russell at the one-foot line. Oakland opts to go for it on fourth down and scores on a one-yard TD run by Michael Bush, but the Raiders are flagged for holding and end up settling for the field goal. The Chargers put together a drive late in the quarter, aided by a pass interference call, a 20-yard catch by Antonio Gates and a horse-collar penalty against the Raiders, but the drive stalls when Rivers is sacked on successive plays and Kaeding’s field-goal try is tipped and blocked at the line of scrimmage.

 

 

 

The Chargers offense finally shows some signs of life as the Bolts score the only points of the third quarter, scoring on a 28-yard Kaeding field goal. Late in the quarter, the Bolts start their first touchdown march after Tim Dobbins intercepts a pass that was tipped at the line by Phillips.

 

Key Plays in the Quarter: During the field goal drive, Gates has a 14-yard catch, Mike Tolbert goes for 11 on third-and-one, and Darren Sproles goes for two on third-and-one. Vincent Jackson also has a big 24-yard catch down to the 15 yard line, but on third-and-goal, Rivers barely misses Tomlinson on a short pass with nothing but the goal line in front of him and the Bolts settle for the FG. Midway through the quarter, a Chargers drive ends when Rivers is intercepted by DeAngelo Hall. Three plays later though, the Chargers return the favor as Phillips tips the pass that is intercepted by Dobbins. On the next series that takes the Bolts through the end of the quarter, Tolbert picks up 14 on a screen and is helped by a huge block from Nick Hardwick, playing in his first game since offseason foot surgery, and Vincent Jackson puts the Bolts deeper into Raiders territory with an 18-yard catch down to the 29.

 

 

 

It takes the Chargers only two plays into the fourth quarter to score their first touchdown of the day and they didn’t stop there as they would go on to score 25 points and outscore Oakland 25-3 in the period to close out the 28-18 win. Antonio Gates started the scoring on a nine-yard touchdown catch and then Marques Harris’ sack, strip and fumble recovery against Russell sets up the Chargers go-ahead touchdown, a 13-yarder by Tomlinson. Kaeding would rebound from the earlier misses to hit from 47 after Oakland had tied the game at 18-18 and then Tomlinson put the game on ice with a 41-yard TD run all but dashing the Raiders’ hopes.

 

Key Plays in the Quarter: Jackson’s 12-yard catch on third-and-seven on the first play of the quarter leads to Gates’ touchdown catch on the next. Gates separates from two Oakland defenders to get open in the end zone and Rivers scrambles out of the pocket to find him. After the TD, Jacob Hester backs the Raiders up as his special teams tackle at the 18 gives Oakland a long field to work with. Three plays later and facing a third-and-six at their own 22, Harris sacks, strips and recovers the fumble by Russell and gives the Bolts the ball at the 13-yard line. One play later, Tomlinson finds a hole to the right and goes into the end zone virtually untouched to give the Bolts their first lead of the game. Up by one, the Chargers go for two after the TD and Sproles catches a screen in the right flat and dives for the goal line to give the Chargers an 18-15 lead. After the Bolts take the lead, the defense forces a three-and-out as Derek Smith pressures Russell on first down and Phillips records his second sack of the game on third down. Late in the contest, the Chargers miss a chance to extend their lead as Kaeding’s 47-yard field goal attempt goes wide right and it sets up Janikowski’s game-tying 32-yard kick that re-ties it at 18-18 with 2:47 to play. Sproles immediately sets up Kaeding’s next kick, which proves to be the game-winner, with a 67-yard kickoff return following the Janikowski field goal. Looking to tie the game, Oakland’s next drive stalls on downs at their own 44-yard line and two plays later, Tomlinson scores the 41-yarder to put the game away.