Chargers vs. Raiders: Final Report Card, Player Grades for Oakland

After having to wait five days before getting their first taste of real NFL action, the Oakland Raiders suffered a 22-14 loss at the hands of the San Diego Chargers thanks to a number of special teams' failures.

The Raiders got on the board first with an early field goal, but fell behind by as many as 16 before cutting the lead to eight with just under a minute left.

Keep reading for a full breakdown of the Raiders' quarterback play, offense, defense, special teams and coaching.

Carson Palmer, QB: B

Fourth quarter: B+

Needing to throw down field more in the fourth, Palmer finally broke out of his check downs and completed a few medium-range passes for big gains throughout the fourth.

Unfortunately, he didn't connect on every pass he threw and wasn't perfect, which was pretty much what the Raiders needed given all of their injuries at wide receiver. Overall, a nice performance for Palmer, but it wasn't enough to get the win.

Third quarter: C

Checking down to your receivers can be tolerated as long as your offense is still moving the ball, but when you start throwing incompletions and going three and out, check downs become a let down.

Palmer and the Raiders will need to start throwing the ball downfield in the fourth if Palmer wants to open up the field.

Second quarter: A

Another great quarter from Palmer, orchestrating a nearly successful two-minute drill that came up just short of tying the game.

Palmer has quieted any haters or doubters he had accumulated this off-season, but he'll need an equally strong second half if the Raiders want to compete.

First quarter: A

Palmer has looked really crisp in the first quarter thus far, making good decisions and not forcing the ball into coverage as he tended to do in the preseason. He even looked in sync with new receiver Derek Hagan, who has only been in town for a few days.

Aside from the Streater fumble, the Raiders offense has been impressive.

Offense: B-

Fourth quarter: B-

Oakland finally got into the endzone in the fourth, but with the Chargers keying on Darren McFadden, the rest of the Oakland offense struggled to be productive.

One bright spot was a pair of nice grabs by tight end Brandon Meyers for big gains in the fourth, but Oakland just didn't get enough consistent production all the way around to score the points they needed.

Third quarter: C

While the Raiders moved the ball well in the first half, the third quarter wasn't the same. Oakland needs a big play desperately in the fourth.

Second quarter: A-

Needing to march all the way down field just before halftime in order to get on the board for the second time this half, Oakland marched all the way down to the one-and-a-half yard line before kicking the field goal.

McFadden has looked great thus far, especially out of the backfield catching the ball so it will be interesting to see if San Diego makes an effort to quiet his receiving game in the second half.

First quarter: B+

The B+ is misleading because of a fumble from Streater, but aside from that one play the Raiders offense has looked like a well-oiled machine.

McFadden has looked fresh and the Raiders receiving corps hasn't seemed to miss a beat without two of their biggest threats in place.

Defense: B+

Fourth quarter: A

Another great performance by the defense, having to constantly battle from their own side of the field thanks to more special teams miscues. Overall, this unit was great and the only reason this game didn't get out of hand.

Third quarter: A-

Two field goals inside of 30 yards means the defense is doing its job of keeping the opposing team out of the endzone, especially given the circumstances.

This unit is the only reason Oakland is still in this game, but at this rate they might need to do the scoring for them.

Second quarter: C-

If not for a couple Tommy Kelly penalties, the Oakland defense may have fared much better, but both of those penalties helped San Diego convert a pair of key third-down plays.

Now with a big play and a slew of penalties on their record, Oakland needs to clean up their act in the second quarter in order to keep pace.

First quarter: B+

The Oakland defense forced a three and out on San Diego's first possession as the run defense has stymied Ronnie Brown and the Charger rushing attack.

One concern has been the play of Oakland's new cornerbacks, however, and Ron Bartell was burned deep by Robert Meachem for the only blemish on Oakland's record.

If the Raiders can limit the big plays in the passing game, Oakland looks to be in a good place.

Special Teams: F-

Fourth quarter: F

Another fumbled snap makes this unit the absolute scapegoat at the end of the night.

Third quarter: F

No other way to put this.

With the loss of longsnapper John Condo to injury, Oakland's punt unit was abysmal in the third, not getting a punt off on their first attempt and then having their second blocked before finally getting a third attempt off cleanly.

I called for a big play, unfortunately, it was a big play going the wrong direction.

Second quarter: A

Nothing too exciting for this unit in the second quarter, but Janikowski knocked through and easy field goal for his second score of the game.

Look for a big play from this unit in the second half if Oakland is going to win this game.

First quarter: A-

While the game started shakily with a Taiwan Jones fumble on the kickoff, Jones fell on the ball and Oakland's unit put three points on the board on a 51-yard field goal from Janikowski.

A personal foul penalty on the Chargers' second kickoff also cost the Raiders a few yards to begin the second quarter.

Coaching: C

Fourth quarter: C

Tough to say how much Dennis Allen had to do with his team's performance tonight, but a loss is a loss and that comes back on the head coach.

Third quarter: F

Talk about getting out-coached in the locker room, that was not a good quarter for Allen and his new staff. Unless the offense can turn it around in the fourth, Allen and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp will need to answer for their lack of production.

Second quarter: A

The big thing here was Allen's ability to preserve all three timeouts for their final drive of the half. Oakland needed all three to score three more points, and Allen should be commended for that.

As for penalties, the second quarter was rough. Kudos to Allen, however, for seeming to bench Tommy Kelly for a few minutes as a result of a pair of dumb penalties.

First quarter: A-

The only blemish on Allen's record so far is a dumb penalty on the second kickoff return of the game. It's hard to assign too much blame to Allen for that, however, given the emphasis he has placed on penalties, he needs to do better.

The offense and defense seems to be well-run at the moment though, so good for Allen and his staff there.