The Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Oakland Raiders 17-16 on Sunday. While there were many highlight plays and key moments, a closer look at the film shows what you may have missed that allowed the Bolts to get the win. All plays come courtesy of NFL Game Pass, which you can purchase to delve into every single game.
The Situation:Second Quarter (0.08); 3rd-and-2 from LAC 26
What You Saw:With time winding down in the first half, Derek Carr fired over the middle to the end zone looking for Amari Cooper. Instead, you saw Jahleel Addae cut in front of Cooper at the goal line to bat the ball down, forcing the Raiders to settle for a field goal.
What You Missed:What Addae did on the entire play that allowed him to be on position for the key break up. The safety couldn't have played it any better, not falling for Cooper's fake that he was running a corner route. Around the 11-yard line, the wide receiver began to make a move for the outside before cutting in for the post. Addae played it perfectly. If he bit for even a split second, it would have been all Cooper needed to haul in the touchdown. Instead, Addae had blanket coverage for the PBU.
The Situation:Fourth Quarter (15:00); 4th-and-2 from LAC 41
What You Saw:The Raiders rolled the dice to open the fourth quarter, going with an empty backfield on fourth down. The Chargers countered by going into man coverage. Carr took the snap in shotgun and fired toward Michael Crabtree, but the two weren't in sync as the ball fell to the ground.
What You Missed:Trevor Williams disrupted the rhythm of the play at the line of scrimmage, forcing the incompletion. Williams jammed Crabtree once the ball was snapped, now allowing a free break. As a result, Carr and Crabtree's timing was off as the Raiders turned it over on downs.
The Situation:Fourth Quarter (2:45); 2nd-and-8 from LAC 44
What You Saw:After finding Hunter Henry on the first play of the drive, Philip Rivers looked deep to the tight end once again, hitting him for a gain of 23 yards to the Oakland 33.
What You Missed:The Bolts used Keenan Allen to get Henry open, confusing the secondary for the key completion. Rivers sent Allen in motion to the right side of the formation a few yards outside of Henry. The wideout ran a go route, drawing safety Karl Joseph with him to allow Henry to follow underneath. Joseph wasn't able to close in time once the ball was in the air, allowing the tight end to make the catch.
