San Diego Chargers Embarrass Themselves Against Raiders

Is the season over for the Chargers?  Not quite yet, but they sure made the odds turn against them in a big way.  Going into this week's game against the Raiders, the Chargers trailed the Chiefs by one game and were to meet the Chiefs next week in San Diego. 

What that all meant was that the Chargers had control of the AFC West if they just won out.  After today's debacle, it will take the collapse of the Chiefs and losses for the Raiders as well.

Today, the Raiders beat the Chargers in all facets of the game.  The Raider offense ran the ball at will against the Chargers' No. 1 rated defense.  Darren McFadden and Michael Bush looked like high school varsity running backs getting some reps against the freshman team.

The Raiders were having so much success with the run that play-action fakes fooled everyone, including the CBS cameramen.  Multiple times during the game, the Chargers appeared to stop a Raider run, only to look up and see that the ball was heading down field with no one in chase.

Even Raider quarterback Jason Campbell looked like better than Chargers quarterback, Philip Rivers.  Obviously, Campbell does not compare to Rivers as a QB, but today, he outplayed Rivers by making throws when he needed to and finding a way to avoid the sack when it looked hopeless.

The Chargers were, to put it kindly, inept on offense.  A large part of their problems were due to the strong pass rush of the Raiders.  For much of the game, Rivers was having to check down, scramble around and try to put the ball in small windows, while the Raiders were breathing down his throat.

Other parts of the day, Rivers did have time to throw and open receivers, and was unable to make the throw.  Rivers picked a bad day to have a bad day, as they say.

While the Raiders running backs treated the Chargers defense like they were late paying off a debt, the Chargers running game was non-existent. In fact, it appeared that Norv Turner forgot that this was not a pass-only league. 

Before the game, it was announced that Ryan Matthews would play for the Chargers as a backup to running back Mike Tolbert.  Despite their offense, Matthews not only didn't carry the ball, but also I don't believe he made it on to the field.

Overall, the Chargers special teams has improved greatly since the last time the Bolts played the Raiders (it would be hard not to).  However, another special teams screw up was huge and allowed the Raiders to get on the board first. 

This time, the Chargers did not get a punt blocked.  This time, Darren Sproles (making around $7 million this year), fumbled a punt deep in Chargers territory, which started the Raider momentum for the game.

So, the Raiders beat the Bolts on offense, defense, special teams, and oh yes, before I forget....coaching.  That's right, Tom Cable outcoached Norv Turner.  If this were Week 4, that wouldn't surprise me that much.  This is Week 13! 

Turner had been doing such a good job lately that he actually had me believing in him.  Today, he just didn't have any answers.  Cable's team came out fired up and playing like they had nothing to lose.  Norv's team came out flat and acted as though they didn't expect the Raiders to show up. 

This lack of focus and blatant overconfidence has plagued the Chargers for years.  I believe that is why they start so slowly in the beginning of the year and why they tend to have a big drop off when the playoffs start. 

I really believe that when the Chargers start to roll, they forget that they have to play hard every week!  NFL teams will not lay down for you!!! You certainly cannot look forward to the next game until the current game is over. I believe that was part of the problem today, as the Chargers play the Chiefs next week.

I have no doubt that many of my fellow Chargers fans will cry foul regarding a cheap defensive holding penalty call late in the game.  Yes, the call was a stretch, but let's face it, the Raiders were flagged all day long, and the Chargers couldn't capitalize on it. 

I refuse to make any lame excuses for this loss.  I'm not blaming the refs.  I'm not crying about injuries.  I'm not even crying about the cheap shot on Sproles.  Simply put, the Raiders put a beat down on the Chargers this week in every aspect of the game.

Next week, the Chiefs come into town with a better running attack than the Raiders have statistically.  There should be plenty of room on the Chargers bandwagon, if you want to jump on.