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Week 6 Game Recap: Oakland Raiders 14, San Diego Chargers 28
What you need to know
| Oakland Raiders |
QB Daunte Culpepper had an up and down afternoon. At times, he looked good on the run, made some crisp throws, and generally was in a decent rhythm. But when he was bad, he was very bad and his passes missed their mark by ten feet or more.
It was unknown earlier this week whether RB LaMont Jordan would be healthy enough to play. He was, but the smothering San Diego defense barely let him breathe. His long gain of the game went for just six yards, and he averaged just 2.3 yards per carry.
WR Ronald Curry had a solid but unspectacular afternoon. On a day dominated by San Diego on both sides of the ball, Curry finished with a game high six receptions and 73 yards and was the most heavily targeted Raiders receiver.
| San Diego Chargers |
RB LaDainian Tomlinson rewarded his patient owners with by far his best game of the season. He couldn't be stopped at times and was obviously the key difference in the two teams. It wasn't just that the offensive line was creating holes for him; Tomlinson broke numerous tackles all game long and simply ran the Raiders down.
For the second week in a row, San Diego's defense came to play. They allowed just one touchdown to Oakland's offense (the other was an interception return) and they looked a lot like the unit that was so adept at getting to the quarterback and creating turnovers a year ago.
Aside from LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego employed a spread the wealth type of offensive philosophy. No receiver was thrown to more than four times, and none caught more than three passes.
Pro Bowl C Nick Hardwick sprained his foot on a screen pass to FB Lorenzo Neal early in the first quarter and did not return. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday, and we'll keep you updated on his condition throughout the next two weeks (the Chargers are on a bye next week).
What you ought to know
| QB Daunte Culpepper, Pass: 24 - 37 - 230 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 5 - 0 |
Culpepper ran very hot and cold all game long. Curiously, the Raiders opted to throw a lot more screens than slants, despite the fact that the quick slant pattern has really been the only thing that has hurt the Chargers in recent weeks. Even so, when Culpepper was on, he looked very good. But when he was off, he was very off. Despite being sacked six times, pass protection really wasn't a major issue. More often than not, he actually had a good amount of time to throw. He was able to step into his throws and move up in the pocket, and even when he wasn't he showed a decent ability to move around and get outside. His passes on the run were good though not great, and he didn't make any boneheaded decisions downfield. That said, he threw a pass intended for Porter early in the first quarter that was picked off by Drayton Florence. Most defensive backs probably wouldn't have been able to hold on, but Florence made a great play on the ball. Aside from the quality of the catch, the important thing for Culpepper owners is that the ball was a good twelve feet away from Porter.
On Culpepper's second interception, he again was looking for Porter, this time down the sideline. Instead, he overthrew his man so badly that it appeared that the aforementioned Cromartie was actually running the route. Besides those two costly turnovers, the biggest swing of events took place late in the first half. Culpepper found Ronald Curry for a 30 yard gain down to the one yard line. The reason Curry didn't score is because San Diego CB Quentin Jammer made a terrific touchdown-saving tackle right at the goal line. Two plays later, Culpepper was sacked by Shaun Phillips and fumbled the ball away. Rather than tying the score at 14, the Raiders came away with zero points and never got that close again. It wasn't an entirely lost day for Culpepper, however. Since the team was behind for the entire game, he got to throw the ball 37 times, which resulted in 230 yards. He also found TE Zach Miller on a play action pass late in the fourth quarter for the only offensive touchdown of the day for the Raiders.
| RB LaMont Jordan, Rush: 18 - 42 - 0, Rec: 6 - 46 - 0 (6 targets) |
Jordan returned from his back injury, but perhaps should have waited until he wasn't facing a stifling defense in San Diego. They were relentless around the football and never allowed him to get into a good running rhythm. His long gain of the day went for just six yards, with most of his carries resulting in getting stuffed right at the line of scrimmage. He did have six catches, though four of those came on the last-gasp garbage time drive to end the game. Jordan did have a scoring opportunity in the fourth quarter, but was twice stuffed at the goal line on successive plays prior to the Zach Miller touchdown catch.
| RB Justin Fargas, Rush: 2 - 10 - 0, Rec: 1 - 16 - 0 (1 targets) |
Fargas was coming off a career performance in his last game, but with the return of a healthy LaMont Jordan, Fargas saw very limited touches in this game. For what it's worth, he actually looked better with the ball by showing a quick burst to the outside on one eight yard run and picking up 16 yards on a screen pass for another.
| RB Dominic Rhodes |
Rhodes did get in the game but did not have a carry.
| WR Ronald Curry, Rec: 6 - 73 - 0 (10 targets) |
Curry had a solid game but it could have been far better if he could have gained just one more yard. He hauled in a very nice catch with his fingertips on a deep ball from Daunte Culpepper late in the first half. He took the ball towards the goal line and was seemingly about to score when he was abruptly knocked out of bounds at the one yard line by CB Quentin Jammer. The Raiders failed to get in on either of the next two plays, instead fumbling the ball away (Daunte Culpepper) and costing themselves any chance of scoring.
| WR Jerry Porter, Rec: 3 - 28 - 0 (7 targets) |
Throwing to Porter was just a bad idea for Daunte Culpepper, at least in this game. Twice he tried getting the football to his wideout, only to see the ball picked off by a San Diego defender. In fairness to Porter, neither of the interceptions were his fault as they were both simply awful passes by Culpepper. Porter never really came close to making any really big plays, either, with his long gain going for 16.
| WR Mike Williams, Rec: 3 - 35 - 0 (4 targets) |
Contrary to popular belief, Williams actually is still alive. He hauled in three passes, including one grab on the sideline that demonstrated tremendous footwork and awareness. It's obvious that Williams has got some skills, and while he wasn't thrown to a ton, he was certainly a factor in the offense in this game.
| TE Zach Miller, Rec: 3 - 17 - 1 (6 targets) |
Miller had a fairly quiet game, though he did score his first career NFL touchdown. He made a nice diving catch late in the first half, and was later seen lying down shaken up in the third quarter. He returned soon after to score the touchdown. It came on a play action pass from Daunte Culpepper on fourth down, showing the confidence the team has in the rookie tight end in a big spot.
| PK Sebastian Janikowski 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points |
Janikowski did not receive a field goal attempt in the game, though he probably should have. With the Raiders trailing 14-7, they got the ball inside the San Diego ten yard line. With less than ten seconds left to play, they opted to try and score the touchdown rather than kick the field goal. However, QB Daunte Culpepper was sacked and fumbled the ball away, costing the Raiders any scoring opportunity.
| OAK Rush Defense |
A quick peek at the stats will tell you all you need to know about how the Raiders performed in this phase of the game. They allowed San Diego over 200 yards on the ground (206) on just 32 carries, for a 6.4 yards per carry average. That's not to mention the four rushing touchdowns they allowed, each of which seemed to further deflate the Raider comeback attempt. With Oakland trailing by seven points late in the game and needing a crucial third down stop, they instead allowed LaDainian Tomlinson to scamper up the left sideline virtually untouched for a 42 yard touchdown run. Once he was past the first level of defenders, there really was no one in his way. He ran over, around, and through Raiders defenders all game long and very rarely was tackled on first contact.
| OAK Pass Defense |
It appears that Oakland played very well in this aspect because of only allowing 156 passing yards and zero touchdowns to go along with an interception that was returned for a touchdown. But the reality of the situation is that San Diego didn't really need to throw the football much to win this one. With LaDainian Tomlinson picking up huge chunks of yardage on the ground, there weren't many times they felt they had to take to the air. And even then, when they did need a long conversion they got it more often than not. Even the lone great play by the Oakland defense was more of a gift than anything. QB Philip Rivers tried forcing a pass against his momentum and threw across his body. It was easily picked off by Thomas Howard and taken the other way for the score. Oakland failed to register a sack and never really came all that close. They nearly had a second interception in the end zone, but Fabian Washington dropped a ball intended for Vincent Jackson. It was a deep ball and would have been a nice play, but it was a ball that probably should have been caught.
| QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 14 - 21 - 156 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0 |
Rivers nearly defined the term managing the offense in this game. Aside from one very poor mistake, he pretty much did only what was absolutely necessary and nothing more. That one poor play was extremely bad, because it directly resulted in an Oakland score. Rivers was rolling left and tried to make a nearly impossible pass across his body downfield to Vincent Jackson. Jackson, however, never saw the pass coming and continued downfield. The only player who did see the pass coming was Oakland LB Thomas Howard, who took it 66 yards the other way for the touchdown. There was also a curious play late in the game on which Rivers attempted a short pass to LaDainian Tomlinson out of the backfield, only to see the ball bounce off of Tomlinson before he ever got his head turned around. That play itself isn't noteworthy, but what is noteworthy is that that particular play has happened several times already this season, where Tomlinson goes out on a route and has the ball thrown off his body before he even knows it's coming. That rarely, if ever, happened a year ago.
Those two miscues aside, Rivers did what needed to be done. He completed two-thirds of his passes while averaging nearly eight yards per attempt. He was given adequate time in the pocket to find his receivers, and with Tomlinson chewing up chunks of yardage on the ground it was much easier to find open receivers underneath. Rivers threw two balls that nearly resulted in touchdowns. The first was a pass completion down the seam to Craig Davis, but the rookie wideout was tackled down at the five yard line. The second was a fade to the near corner to TE Antonio Gates, but the pass was broken up just at the last second. The only other time Rivers threw a pass into the end zone was on a deep ball to WR Vincent Jackson in the second half, but that ball was nearly intercepted by CB Fabian Washington.
| RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 24 - 198 - 4, Rec: 3 - 16 - 0 (4 targets) |
In Tomlinson's case the statistics paint an exact portrait of how well Tomlinson did. He tied a career high with four rushing touchdowns, passing John Riggins and tying Jim Brown on the all-time rushing touchdown list. His third carry of the game went for 23 yards, and by then it was already on. He finished with a season high 198 yards on the ground, with separate touchdown runs of 27 and 41 yards. His first score of the game was a leaping maneuver that combined awesome leaping ability with precise balance, as he shot up over the pile and maintained control all the way to the ground. He was untouched on the second score of the game. The third touchdown was a pitch to the left side against the formation on which he dragged a tackler into the end zone with him. And his final score of the game was supposed to be a simple run off of the right tackle to pick up a first down. But no Oakland defenders got anywhere near him, and once he got past the first level of defenders he was gone for the score. He fought off tacklers, made people miss in the open field, and generally looked a lot like the player who set the league's all time touchdown mark a year ago. If you haven't been able to pry Tomlinson away from a panicky owner in your league yet, it appears that that opportunity is all but gone.
| RB Michael Turner, Rush: 5 - 8 - 0 |
A week after perhaps the best game of his career, Turner came up all but empty. His five carries were sporadic throughout the game, and when the Chargers were busy running out the clock it was LaDainian Tomlinson and not Turner, who got all of the touches. It just goes to show that for all of his upside and big runs, it's awfully tough to rely on him even when the game appears as if it'll be a blowout for the Chargers.
| WR Craig Davis, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0, Rec: 2 - 30 - 0 (2 targets) |
Davis saw two early looks and took the handoff on a wide receiver reverse. It seemed early on as if the coaches were going to make a concerted effort to get Davis more touches, especially after one of his catches resulted in an 18 yard gain down to the Oakland five yard line. But instead of seeing more action, Davis' looks dried up as he didn't see a single pass his way after halftime.
| WR Vincent Jackson, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (4 targets) |
Jackson had been getting limited but fairly regular work in recent weeks, but in this game his opportunities were even fewer and further between. San Diego spread the ball around fairly evenly to its receivers, with no player seeing more than four passes in his direction. The bulk of the offensive gameplan was to make sure RB LaDainian Tomlinson got his touches, and in a game like this there just weren't enough scraps to go around for everyone else. Jackson was thrown to just once in the second half, though it was a deep ball in the end zone.
| TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 3 - 58 - 0 (4 targets) |
For the first time all season, Gates didn't reward his owners with a monster game. But if 58 yards is considered an off game, I'm sure his owners will sign up for that. He was thrown to once in the end zone on a fade pass, but he had a defender all over him that broke up the pass at the last moment. Gates' big play came early in the second half. While being defended by Michael Huff, Gates screened off the defender on a simple out route, spun, and turned it upfield for a big 28 yard gain. While Gates wasn't as heavily involved in the passing game as in recent weeks, that doesn't mean he didn't play a role. On one particular play, he lined up in the backfield as a fullback and sprung a key block that allowed Tomlinson to pick up about five to eight extra yards.
| PK Nate Kaeding 0 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points |
Kaeding badly missed his only field goal attempt of the afternoon, a 50 yarder that he hooked well wide to the left.
| SD Rush Defense |
San Diego's run defense stymied Lamont Jordan and company for the entire game. Jordan was harassed constantly and could never find any room to run. Not only was there no room to run, but he could barely make it back to the line of scrimmage without first encountering a Chargers defender. Much of the San Diego linebacking corps essentially lived in the Oakland backfield for much of the afternoon, which helps explain why Jordan's long gain on the day went for just six yards. And the one time he got goal line scoring chances, the Chargers defensive front really rose up and made sure he wasn't the guy to get in.
| SD Pass Defense |
It's hard to say the Chargers dominated in this aspect, since they did give up 230 yards and a touchdown through the air. But they made the big plays when they needed to, and they forced Daunte Culpepper into a couple of very costly mistakes. LBs Shaun Phillips and Shawne Merriman teamed up to wreak havoc in the Raider backfield for nearly the entire afternoon, combining for eleven tackles and four and a half sacks. Despite the pressure from those two, Culpepper wasn't really under intense pressure the whole game. There were several plays that resulted in nice gains on which he seemingly had all day to throw, and on a couple of third down and long situations, the Chargers actually called off the pass rushers only to see the Raiders pick up the first down. Fortunately for the Chargers, Culpepper's accuracy was still a major problem as he badly misfired on several passes that should have gone to wide open receivers. The San Diego defensive backs also displayed some nice skills, particularly CB Drayton Florence who made a terrific grab of a diving interception early in the game. CB Antonio Cromartie would later add a second reception on a pass down the sideline that went right to him. But perhaps the biggest defensive plays turned in by San Diego defenders came on the same drive late in the first half. After Culpepper found a wide open Ronald Curry streaking towards the end zone for a 30 yard completion, CB Quentin Jammer stood up Curry at the goal line and prevented him from scoring the game-tying touchdown. Two plays later, Shaun Phillips forced a Culpepper fumble at the San Diego eleven yard line. The ball was recovered by the Chargers, and the Raiders had to settle for a 14-7 halftime deficit rather than a tie game. Late in the fourth quarter, S Eric Weddle appeared to be shaken up, but he remained in the game and seemed fine.
