Tag: Las Vegas Raiders vs Los Angeles Chargers

Breaking down how Raiders deployed WR and TE through 2 weeks

We have a two-game sample to see just how the Raiders are deploying their receivers and tight ends so far.

With Week 2 officially in the books, we now have multiple data points to help us figure out what to expect from this new look Raiders offense under Luke Getsy.

It’s pretty clear at this point that the group of pass catchers are the strength of the unit, and that’s to be expected when you look at the resources the team has put into it.

The Raiders rank third in the NFL in cap space dedicated to wide receivers and have now spent top 35 picks on tight ends in back to back drafts. Acquiring all that talent is great, but the way that talent is used can be just as important.

The first and most important player to talk about is, of course, Davante Adams.

Sometimes when teams have a truly elite receiver like Adams, they’ll throw them on the outside every play and ask them to win against whatever coverage they’re faced with. But in today’s NFL, more and more teams have started moving their best players around the formation. Not only does this allow you to take advantage of favorable matchups, it also makes life easier for your quarterback by giving him larger windows to throw into.

So far this year, Adams has taken 27% of his snaps from the slot. That’s still a touch lower than his first year with the team but a big improvement from 16.9% last year.

Those alignment numbers are part of the reason Adams’s yardage total dropped by almost 400 yards from 2022 to 2023 despite seeing 3 more targets.

The uptick in slot snaps this year is already paying off. Adams had 9 catches for 110 yards in week 2. He only hit those totals twice all of last season. 

Next we have the highly touted 1st round pick Brock Bowers.

Having a player like Bowers can do so many things for an offense, but tight ends are so often misused because they aren’t a great fit for their offense. This can lead to underwhelming production and prevent them from reaching their ceiling.

The early signs suggest that this will not be the case here. Bowers has been on the field for 62 pass plays this season and has run a route on 59 of them (95%).

Of the 37 tight ends who have played at least 25 passing snaps, only 2 have a higher route participation rate than Bowers. He’s certainly a capable blocker, but you don’t draft a tight end in the top 15 for their pass blocking.

Luke Getsy is also doing a good job moving the Georgia product around the formation. Bowers has taken 45 snaps from the slot, 30 at inline tight end, eight out wide, and one from the backfield. This is a great balance that allows them to use him in a variety of ways without turning him into a glorified decoy.

The only nitpick I have with Bowers’s usage is that he’s only run the fourth most routes on the team. I suspect this will increase as the season rolls on, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. 

Now that we’ve covered the two thoroughbreds, let’s talk about some of the other receivers and tight ends.

As expected, Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker have been far and away WR2 and WR3. Both players took over 60% of their snaps from the outside in 2023, but Hunter Renfrow’s departure opened up space in the slot. They’ve opted to keep Tucker and his elite speed on the outside, moving Meyers to play a majority in the slot.

For Meyers, this makes sense considering it’s what he did for his entire career in New England. At the same time, it’s a bit surprising because Meyers performed well in 2023, and Tucker spent a whopping 96.5% of the time in the slot during his final season at Cincinnati. Speed is likely the main reason for this decision, and it’s hard to fault them for that.

The result of this, however, is Tucker has struggled to get involved early and spends most of his time clearing out space for other playmakers — an important, but often thankless job.

It would be nice to see more of Tucker getting downfield on full speed motion plays, similar to what the Dolphins do with their speedy receivers. They’ve done some of that stuff with Meyers, but Tucker’s speed could really be leveraged in those situations. Tucker’s average depth of target was 19.2 yards last, but he has yet to see a target more than 20 yards downfield in 2024. 

Finally, there’s Michael Mayer. A highly drafted player who has sort of been cast aside with the arrival of Bowers.

Mayer has good hands, he’s solid in contested situations and is a capable route runner. He’s just not quite as dynamic as some of the top receiving tight ends around the league.

At the same time, he hasn’t fared particularly well as a blocker in his NFL career so far. Mayer was 72nd out of 91 qualified tight ends in PFF run blocking grade in 2023. He’s fallen more into that type of role in 2024, so hopefully we see improvement as he can focus more on that part of his game. 

Overall, I like what Luke Getsy has done with his pass catchers so far in 2024. We’re seeing much more diversity with their alignment compared to 2023. The passing game may not look like it did against Baltimore every week, but expect it to continue looking better than last year. 

This stat tells the real story behind Gardner Minshew’s 75% completions in Week 1

Raiders QB Gardner Minshew had NFL lowest air yards per attempt in Week 1

Following the Raiders 22-10 loss to the Chargers in their season opener, the Raiders PR staff put out a stat that, while true, could definitely be classified as spin.

https://twitter.com/RAIDERS_PR/status/1832951168634601743

Why is that spin? Well, because completing 75% of one’s passes isn’t a tremendous accomplishment when two of said passes on average may not even have been enough for a first down.

So, while 75% may be the best in a narrow scope (Raiders QBs in their debut with the team), the air yards stat is the worst in a broader scope. That broader scope being every other starting QB in the NFL last week.

https://twitter.com/NateAtkins_/status/1833984938250510672

This is not to disparrage Minshew. But to keep perspective here. It wasn’t that he was missing everything downfield. He threw some longer passes. But it’s important not to compare completion percentage without context.

Completing a dump pass to a running back is not the same as a deep throw or a mid-range throw into a tight window. And until this offense has a few more deep and intermediate completions, it’s not going to sustain a lot of drives and score many more points than they did in the opener.

Ballers for Raiders Week 1 loss to Chargers

Ballers for Raiders Week 1 loss to Chargers

Even in a tough loss like this, the plain truth is not everyone was bad. In fact, through three quarters, the Raiders had a lot going for them and it was still a two-point game. That doesn’t happen by accident.

So, before we get into how it all fell apart, let’s give credit to those who kept the Raiders in this game through three quarters.

Ballers

DE Maxx Crosby

While the Chargers are pumping their chests at how well their rookie tackle held up against Crosby, he still was a major factor in this game. The Chargers started the game with a three-and-out. And the final two plays featured a Maxx Crosby tackle for loss and a sack off a stunt. So much for Alt deleting Crosby.

He ended another drive in the second quarter with a QB hit on third down to send the two teams into the locker room with a 7-6 Raiders lead.

The Chargers went on a long drive early in the third quarter. but it also featured two Crosby run stuffs and ended with a Crosby pressure for an incompletion, so the Chargers settled for a field goal.

He finished with a sack, three QB hits, and five tackles, one for a loss.

LB Robert Spillane

Spillane led the team with ten combined tackles (seven solo). Two of those tackles ended drives. On one possession in the second quarter, he made the tackle on all three downs including a tackle for loss. He started out a three-and-out in the third quarter with a tackle as well.

CB Jakorian Bennett

He stayed in Quentin Johnston’s hip pocket up deep up the left sideline to knock the ball away and end the Chargers’ second possession with a three-and-out. He didn’t give up a catch all day after that either.

RB Alexander Mattison

After a couple of drives with Zamir White going nowhere, the Raiders put in Mattison. And he had the highlight reel play of the game for them. Mattison caught a pass in the right flat and looked to be stopped, but he evaded one tackler and hurdled Asante Samuel Jr without breaking stride and took it 31 yards to the house. He finished with nine touches for 62 yards and a TD.

DT Christian Wilkins

With the way the Chargers were able to break through on the ground in the second half, it may be hard to remember the Raiders had them hemmed up before that. Wilkins led the way in that department with three run stuffs. He finished second on the team with six combined tackles (five solo).

P AJ Cole

His first punt went 57 yards and was fair caught at the 13. His second punt went 52 yards and was also fair caught. His pooch punt in the fourth quarter was fair caught at the eight. He finished averaging 53 yards per punt with three stopped inside the 20 and one touchback.

T Thayer Munford

While Kolton Miller was having all kinds of issues on the left side, Munford held his own on the right side. Not giving up any sacks or run stuffs.

Honorable Mention

WR Davante Adams — Led the team with 59 yards on five catches. His two catches for 29 yards on the Raiders third drive both came on third down to set up the team’s only touchdown of the game.

CB Nate Hobbs — Chased down two long runs to keep it from being a touchdown. The first one ended in a field goal.

Continue to the Busters…

Busters for Raiders Week 1 loss to Chargers

Those responsible for the Raiders’ collapse in LA.

The good news is that the Raiders held a one point lead at the half of this game. The bad news — aside from the fact that they lost that lead — is that they only scored once to get that early lead.

The second half brought very little scoring from the Raiders while the Chargers eventually found the cracks in the defense to run away with this one. Let’s look at why.

Busters

T Kolton Miller

I can’t recall Miller ever having a game this bad. Not even as a rookie. He simply had a horrendous outing.

Even starting the game with a nine-yard completion, the Raiders went three-and-out. That’s because on the next two plays, Miller got beat to give up run stuffs for no gain. The next drive, the Raiders were in fourth and one and opted to go for it. And Miller was beaten again to give up a tackle for loss.

Another three-and-out to begin the second quarter because Miller gave up a pressure that flushed Gardner Minshew from the pocket and his scramble was stopped at one yard. Next drive he gave up a sack. The drive after that he gave up a pressure for an incompletion.

The Raiders needed to answer after the Chargers got their first touchdown of the day to take a 16-7 lead. They had a nice looking drive going, but it was upended when Miller gave up a sack. They settled for a field goal and didn’t come any closer after that.

HC Antonio Pierce

When to be aggressive and when to live to play another down was something Pierce seemed to struggle with in this game.

They found themselves in 4th and one from their own 41 midway through the first quarter and no score. This would seem like one of those times you just punt it away. But no, Pierce thought this was the time to show his aggressive nature. He called for the Raiders to go for it, handed it to Zamir White and he was stuffed for a loss. The Chargers only needed a few yards to get into field goal range and took the 3-0 lead.

With the game still 9-7 in the third quarter, the Raiders lined up in third and seven at the 32. It was clear the moment they lined up that they were playing for the field goal. Gardner Minshew scanned the field for a moment and then ditched it, just as he was told he should rather than risk anything. Then Daniel Carlson came out and missed the 49-yard field goal. Wasted drive.

The big one, however, came with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter with the Raiders down 16-10. They had added a field goal on their previous drive to make it a one-score game. Then the defense stopped the Chargers for a three-and-out, and a 21-yard punt return gave the Raiders great field position at their own 48. Three plays later they were in 4th and one from the LA 41. That screams go for it. And Pierce thought about it, but opted for the pooch punt instead.

The Chargers got the ball and drove for the touchdown. But even without hindsight, this was a no-brainer mistake by Pierce. After all the shifting in momentum and field position advantage, you simply DO NOT give up the ball without a fight. Even worse is the fact he was given several opportunities to admit he made a mistake, but still insisted he had good reason for his decision. None of those reasons held water.

QB Gardner Minshew

The only touchdown in the game was entirely because of Alexander Mattison made an amazing play to elude two tacklers, hurdling one to go the score. It was a whole lotta bad otherwise.

The poor offense directly led to the Chargers’ first two scores. The first was failing on 4th and one in the first quarter. The second was because Minshew had the ball slip out of his hand, causing a backward pass (which is a fumble) that was recovered by the Chargers in scoring range.

The Raiders managed just three points in the second half and the game ended with Minshew’s short pass attempt getting batted and intercepted.

LB Divine Deablo

Three big runs for the Chargers in the second half are what broke this game open. The first one, Diablo was blocked out of the way and it went for 46 yards, leading to a go-ahead field goal. The next was the first play of the fourth quarter. Deablo mistimed his blitz and was caught up on the outside while he was supposed to be inside the tackle. Without him there, JK Dobbins had an easy run for the touchdown. The final run, Deablo shot the inside gap and Dobbins jump cut through the outside gap and was gone for 61 yards. That one clinched it.

RB Zamir White

He had five carries for five yards in the first half. This included a stuff on third and one and a stuff for a loss on fourth and one. Leading the team to go with Alexander Mattison for a while. Then on his second carry of the third quarter, he went for eight yards and fumbled it away. His struggles are part of what had Antonio Pierce opt to punt late instead of take the aggressive approach.

C Andre James

Not helping in the run department was the play of James who was getting absolutely owned by Poona Ford. He and Kolton Miller both got beaten badly on that failed fourth down play. He would also give up another run stuff on the next drive and a sack on third down to end a drive in the second quarter after the Raiders had driven to the Chargers 43.

S Tre’Von Moehrig

The first big run of the game went for 46 yards but had several chances to be stopped before it got that far. Moehrig was the last line of defense and he missed the tackle. If not for Nate Hobbs chasing down the play, it would have been a touchdown.

The final touchdown of the game was given up by Moehrig who then also missed the tackle.

K Daniel Carlson

Kickers should not be missing field goals inside the 50. Carlson missed one from 49 yards out that would have given the Raiders the lead in the third quarter.

See the Ballers

No suspension for Raiders CB Jack Jones for part in fight during opener vs Chargers

No suspension Jack Jones and Joshua Palmer for their fight late in Sunday’s game.

Frustrations boiled over for the Raiders in the fourth quarter in their loss to the Chargers.

The Chargers scored their final touchdown of the game to go up 22-10 over the Raiders. They attempted a two-point conversion and failed. In the process, a fight broke out.

Several Raiders and Chargers players were involved, but it was Jack Jones and Joshua Palmer who threw punches and thus both players were ejected.

Whenever players are ejected, the league reviews it to see if the incident rises to the level of a suspension. And in this case they have decided it doesn’t.

You can bet fines are incoming. But that’s a much smaller issue than missing a game and a game check as a result.

Head coach Antonio Pierce called the incident “disappointing.”

“I get it, we’re protecting our teammate,” said Pierce. “But we never want to put ourselves in a position where it’s possibly ejection, fines, suspension down the road. We don’t want to be that team. The history of the Raiders has always been that team. We don’t want to have that. Our guys got to be careful. Again, I love protecting one another and going to battle for one another, but if you throw punches or anything, you’re in the wrong sport.”

Raiders Week 1 snap counts vs Chargers: Who stepped up at defensive end?

Who stepped up at defensive end to replace Malcolm Koonce?

With a new coaching staff comes questions about who will see the most playing time at each position. And, of course, it’s also opponent dependent as well.

There are a few interesting observations with regard to how many snaps each player had in the team’s season opener against the Chargers.

First up is how the receiving corps shook out. And that includes the tight ends.

Despite the prevailing thinking being the Brock Bowers would be basically the team’s third receiver, it was Tre Tucker who had more snaps behind Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers.

Zamir White started at running back, but it was Alexander Mattison who had more snaps as he was more effective.

On defense, Adam Butler had more snaps than John Jenkins. Both got the start as the Raiders often lined up with five defensive linemen.

Malcolm Koonce went down with a knee injury this week and was placed on IR. Leaving the Raiders to find a replacement. Tyree Wilson was lost after just six snaps. And it was practice squad call up Charles Snowden who got the start and led the way, even ahead of Janarius Robinson.

Offense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Cody Whitehair G 60 100% 3 11%
Dylan Parham G 60 100% 3 11%
Thayer Munford T 60 100% 3 11%
Kolton Miller T 60 100% 3 11%
Gardner Minshew II QB 60 100% 0 0%
Andre James C 60 100% 0 0%
Davante Adams WR 58 97% 0 0%
Jakobi Meyers WR 52 87% 0 0%
Tre Tucker WR 47 78% 7 25%
Brock Bowers TE 41 68% 0 0%
Alexander Mattison RB 36 60% 0 0%
Michael Mayer TE 34 57% 0 0%
Zamir White RB 23 38% 0 0%
DJ Turner WR 5 8% 23 82%
Harrison Bryant TE 4 7% 11 39%
Defense Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Maxx Crosby DE 57 100% 4 14%
Marcus Epps SS 57 100% 0 0%
Tre’von Moehrig FS 57 100% 0 0%
Nate Hobbs CB 57 100% 0 0%
Robert Spillane LB 57 100% 0 0%
Christian Wilkins DT 54 95% 7 25%
Adam Butler DT 53 93% 0 0%
Jack Jones CB 53 93% 0 0%
Divine Deablo LB 42 74% 0 0%
John Jenkins DT 34 60% 6 21%
Charles Snowden DE 30 53% 21 75%
Jakorian Bennett CB 30 53% 0 0%
Janarius Robinson DE 24 42% 4 14%
Nesta Jade Silvera DT 10 18% 6 21%
Tyree Wilson DE 6 11% 2 7%
Luke Masterson LB 4 7% 25 89%
Isaiah Pola-Mao FS 2 4% 23 82%
Special Teams Spec Tms
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Kana’i Mauga LB 0 0% 25 89%
Christopher Smith SS 0 0% 23 82%
Amari Burney LB 0 0% 21 75%
Amari Gainer LB 0 0% 19 68%
Ameer Abdullah RB 0 0% 14 50%
Tyreik McAllister WR 0 0% 8 29%
Jacob Bobenmoyer LS 0 0% 8 29%
AJ Cole III P 0 0% 8 29%
Sam Webb CB 0 0% 8 29%
Darnay Holmes CB 0 0% 7 25%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 6 21%
Andrus Peat G 0 0% 3 11%
Jordan Meredith G 0 0% 3 11%
Delmar Glaze T 0 0% 3 11%
Jonah Laulu DT 0 0% 1 4%

Maxx Crosby laments Raiders ‘leaky’ run defense in loss to Chargers

Maxx Crosby laments Raiders ‘leaky’ run defense in loss to Chargers

At the half the Chargers had 26 yards on the ground. But as the second half went along, the cracks started to show and eventually the dam broke.

Maxx Crosby was a major force in the Raiders defense holding the Chargers down early and keeping it a one-point game at the half. His disappointment in the team’s inability to keep it going for 60 minutes was palpable.

“It’s a game of inches and a game of details and we weren’t detailed enough for four quarters,” said Crosby. “We did some good things, but there’s a couple runs where it’s on us. At end of the day it’s about block destruction, getting off blocks and finishing plays and we just let things get a little leaky at the end and that’s not what we’re about, so we got to fix it moving forward.”

Crosby referred to a couple runs in particular that bit the Raiders in the second half. The two runs he is referring to are almost certainly the 12-yard TD run by JK Dobbins to begin the fourth quarter and the 61-yard Dobbins run to set of the game clinching touchdown late in the fourth.

The 12-yard run went inside the right tackle and it was Divine Deablo who  blew the gap, blitzing too early and ending up on the edge along with Crosby, leaving a good sized hole for Dobbins to run for the end zone.

https://twitter.com/chargers/status/1832905940326322325

The 61-yard run once again saw Dobbins choose the gap where Diablo was not. This time Diablo went inside the guard and Dobbins bounced to inside the tackle and was gone for 61yards before Nate Hobbs could chase him down.

Three plays later they were in the end zone and the game was, for all intents and purposes, over.

Raiders winners and losers in 22-10 defeat vs. Chargers

The Raiders offense never got going and their defense wore down late in this Week 1 loss. Which players stood out the most?

The Raiders’ main concern this offseason was their offense and whether it could score enough points to compete.

After Week 1, that’s still a huge issue, as the Raiders offense never got going against the Chargers on Sunday in a 22-10 loss. The defense played well initially but wore down late when coach Antonio Pierce needed them most.

Miscues, poor short-yardage offense, and turnovers plagued the Raiders. They still had a chance to win, but after Pierce punted on 4th-and-1 play in Los Angeles territory late in the ballgame, the Chargers waltzed downfield to turn their 16-10 lead into an insurmountable 22-10 advantage.

Here are the winners and losers for the week after a disappointing loss for this new Raiders regime.

Winner: RB Alexander Mattison

After starting running back Zamir White got off to an awful start, reserve RB Alexander Mattison got some run as an all-down back. He responded with the Raiders’ first touchdown of the season. He caught a pass from quarterback Gardner Minshew in the flat and hurdled a defender before scampering to the end zone.

Winner: LB Robert Spillane

Every great defense needs playmakers on every level. The Raiders have a star-studded defensive line and a cohesive, talented secondary, and linebacker Robert Spillane holds down the middle.

Spillane did most of his damage in the first half, as did the entire Raiders defense. But Spillane looked primed to build on his breakout 2023 campaign — especially when he went full beast mode and pushed a Chargers lineman into the backfield with enough force to make a tackle for loss.

In total, Spillane had 10 tackles with seven solo stops.

Winner: TE Brock Bowers

It was a solid debut for rookie tight end Brock Bowers, the Raiders first-round pick this season. He finished with six catches on eight targets for 58 yards. He flashed big-play ability on a 26-yard haul.

Loser: RB Zamir White

The entire offense had a subpar day, starting with short-yardage struggles in the run game. White was stuffed at the line of scrimmage twice on the Raiders’ first drive of the game. The two botched run plays came after a 9-yard gain on first down.

White was stopped again for no gain on the Raiders’ next drive, this time on 4th-and-1. He was also leveled on pass reception just before Mattison entered the game.

When it appeared White finally found some traction, he fumbled the ball after a 10-yard run. It was one of the Raiders’ three turnovers in this game.

Loser: QB Gardner Minshew

As the Raiders’ defense was still dominating late in the first half, Minshew had a terrible miscue, fumbling on an awkward pass attempt. It ruined a promising drive that seemed poised to result in at least three points for Las Vegas.

The Raiders got the ball to open the second half, so ideally, they would score to close the first half and then score again after halftime. Instead, the Chargers notched a field goal after Minshew’s miscue to pull within one point of Las Vegas.

Additionally, Minshew missed wide receiver Davante Adams on a crucial 3rd-and-7 play in the fourth quarter. Minshew threw to Mattison instead, who was a yard short of the sticks. That’s when Pierce decided to punt, even as the Raiders were at the Chargers 43-yard line mid-way through the final frame.

Loser: OC Luke Getsy

There’s not much to say about offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, except it’s his job to make sure the offense to keeps pace with the Raiders’ defense. Early returns aren’t good, even with a quality assortment of skill players at his disposal.

Loser: Kolton Miller/O-Line

The Raiders had just 71 rushing yards and it wasn’t all White and Getsy’s fault. Blocking in general was suspect, especially when White was stopped on 4th-and-1.

Plus, left tackle Kolton Miller was abused multiple times by defensive end Khalil Mack, who had 1.5 QB sacks on the afternoon.

Loser: WR Davante Adams

It’s no secret that for superstar wide receiver Davante Adams to remain happy in Las Vegas, the offense has to be productive, ideally with Adams playing a starring role.

After one week, that hasn’t happened. The offense struggled and Adams had five catches on a paltry six targets.

Loser: HC Antonio Pierce

The Raiders lost a winnable game in Pierce’s debut as the full-time coach because of mistakes and turnovers, and one of those mistakes gets credited to Pierce.

Though I understand why he punted in the fourth quarter as the Raiders were in Chargers territory trailing 16-10, I think he trusted his defense too much, especially considering the warm weather in LA on Sunday. Both the Chargers and the Raiders defense appeared fatigued late.

That should have created an opportunity for the Raiders offense on that 4th-and-1 play. Instead, Pierce punted and the Chargers took advantage of the Raiders’ tired defenders.

The Raiders looked much like we thought they would: a solid and potentially elite defense and a suspect offense. Still, they were in this game until the end.

If trends on offense and defense hold, winning the turnover battle will be even more important than usual. That didn’t happen on Sunday, so it’s no surprise the team earned a collective “L” in this matchup. They’ll get another try next week against the Ravens in Baltimore.

Antonio Pierce defends questionable punt decision on Raiders critical 4th down vs Chargers

Antonio Pierce defends poor decision to punt on Raiders critical 4th down vs Chargers

Down six. In fourth and one at the opposing team’s 43 with just over seven minutes left. That seems like the perfect time to go for it, doesn’t it? It sure seemed that way to most who were watching when the Raiders were in that position. And yet, head coach Antonio Pierce decided to go with the non-aggressive move and punt it away.

What happened next was the Chargers essentially put the game away. They drove right down the field for a touchdown to seal the 22-10 win.

Pierce defended his decision after the game.

“We considered going for it,” said Pierce. “It was a long one, it got stopped earlier in the game. Momentum. Punter had done a good job pinning those guys back. I think we had two or three punts inside the 20. Defense was a strength for the most part of the game. Keep them backed up with three timeouts.”

There are some problems with these reasons.

Yeah, they were stopped earlier in the game on 4th and one. It was early in the gme in their own territory on a play where it would’ve actually made sense to punt it. So, that makes for the wrong decision twice. But, again, that was the second drive of the game. When the Chargers defense was fresh, having played a total of six snaps up to that point. No reason to make decisions in the fourth quarter based on plays in the first quarter. Not the least of which being that it signals a lack of faith in your offense.

That drive only served to put an underline and an exclamation point on the poor decision by Pierce to give the ball back to the Chargers without even attempting to keep driving down the field.

But even before the result, the decision was the wrong one. The Raiders had added a field goal on the previous drive to make it a one-score game, the defense held strong — which they hadn’t done much of in the second half up to that point — and Tre Tucker had a nice punt return to gain the field position advantage.

So, yeah, there was momentum. And punting it gave that momentum away. And for what? 35 yards on a punt? Pinning them back? Even if they stayed pinned back, they’d still have more field to punt it back again after running the clock down more.

And they didn’t stay pinned back. They got out of it in three plays and two plays after that, they were at the Vegas 14. Courtesy of a 61-yard run. While you can’t predict that specifically, the signs were there that the Raiders were losing the battle at the line of scrimmage by the end of the third quarter with consecutive big chunk runs of 10 yards and a 12-yard touchdown.

That’s a sign you need to keep the ball out of the hands of the Chargers at all costs and keep your defense on the sideline as long as possible.

That play call to punt on that fourth down was punting on this game.

Week 1 game recap: Chargers wear down Raiders defense to run away with 22-10 win

Week 1 game recap: Chargers wear down Raiders defense to run away with 22-10 win

There weren’t a whole lot of surprises in the first half between the Raiders and Chargers. The Raiders defense was playing well and it was a one score game at the half.

After two three-and-outs, the Raiders went on a touchdown drive, with Alexander Mattison making the highlight reel play, hurdling a defender to go 31-yard for the score.

Otherwise, the Raiders offense struggled in the first half. Including a couple turnovers on fumbles. Meanwhile the defense was dialing up great pressure on Justin Herbert to hold the Chargers to a couple field goals.

It would come down to who made the adjustments at the half. And it was the Chargers who came out victorious. Most of it came on the ground.

After holding the Chargers to under 30 yards rushing in the first half, the Chargers eventually wore down the Raiders defense and scored two touchdowns to literally run away with the 22-10 victory.

The Raiders started to swing momentum back their way and were winning the field position battled down six points. But the decision to punt on fourth and one in LA territory would burn them as the Chargers broke off a 61-yard JK Dobbins run and finished it off with a touchdown to call game.