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| Other Week 8 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL at NO | CAR at ARI | CLE at CHI | DEN at BAL | HOU at BUF | JAX at TEN | MIA at NYJ | MIN at GB |
| NYG at PHI | OAK at SD | SEA at DAL | SF at IND | STL at DET | |||
Week 8 Game Recap: Oakland Raiders 16, San Diego Chargers 24
Oakland Raiders
| QB JaMarcus Russell, Pass: 14 - 22 - 109 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0 |
Russell, fresh off what head coach Tom Cable referred to as his best week of practice of the season, looked about as hopeless as he's looked for most of the season. He overthrew his intended target TE Zach Miller on his lone interception, though he very nearly threw several other interceptions that were simply poor decision. One in particular was thrown to WR Louis Murphy in triple coverage that was especially bad. When he was given loads of time to throw and the Chargers weren't blitzing, he tended to make better decisions -- but that goes for 100% of NFL quarterbacks. The few times they needed him to make a play, he mostly failed. He showed very little touch on anything down the field and had almost no ability to get the ball further than ten yards from the line of scrimmage with any kind of accuracy. With the Raiders driving for the potentially game-tying field goal, he fumbled and then later took a sack to knock them from first down range into a nearly-impossible situation.
| RB Justin Fargas, Rush: 18 - 59 - 1, Rec: 3 - 20 - 0 (3 targets) |
Fargas ran hard all game long, consistently dragging tacklers for an extra yard or three. Despite Michael Bush earning the start, it was clear early on that Fargas was going to be the focal point of the offense. His numbers don't look great obviously, but he and Zach Miller were the only players on the field for the Raiders who didn't look defeated from the opening whistle. His touchdown run was a strong burst up the gut where he fought his way into the end zone after an interception had set up good field position. He was also involved in the short passing game, grabbing three receptions for an additional twenty yards. On a day when Oakland trailed from start to finish, 79 yards and a score has got to be looked upon as a very successful afternoon.
| RB Michael Bush, Rush: 7 - 27 - 0, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (2 targets) |
Bush's first two carries resulted in a first down for Oakland, and he appeared to be on his way towards becoming the latest rusher to take down the San Diego defensive front. However, his touches dwindled after Justin Fargas began opening up holes in the defense, and Fargas appeared to run with far more power and authority. Bush had very little impact in this game, and it was obvious that Fargas was the better runner of the two, at least right now. It would be more than a mild surprise if Bush earned any additional carries moving forward with this performance.
| WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (4 targets) |
After not catching a pass in the first half, Higgins had a crucial third down reception late in the third quarter. He was also the intended target on a desperation pass late in the fourth quarter. He nearly hauled it in and came down with it, but the play was designed for him to catch it and immediately lateral to Darrius Heyward-Bey. Instead, the ball sort of bounced off of Higgins and fell to the ground for an incompletion.
| WR Louis Murphy, Rush: 1 - 12 - 0 (3 targets) |
Like most Raider receivers, his first reception of the game didn't come until late in the third quarter. He also nearly made a terrific grab along the sideline but was unable to keep his feet inbounds on a big third down pass play. That was the story of Murphy's day, as that and a false start penalty against him at a critical moment turned out to be his biggest plays of the game. He did have a 12-yard rush but that hardly outweighs the negatives on his ledger.
| TE Zach Miller, Rec: 5 - 52 - 0 (7 targets) |
Miller, along with RB Justin Fargas, were the long bright spots for the Raiders on a very dreary offensive day. It's unfortunate watching a player with a skill set as obviously high as Miller's being wasted on a team like this. He runs good routes, has very good speed, excellent hands, and is strong. But unless he picks up a ton of yardage after the catch, he's essentially limited to swing passes and screens in the flat or dumpoffs over the middle. QB JaMarcus Russell cannot get him the ball down the field, evidenced by his one attempt to do so resulting in an overthrow and an interception.
| TE Brandon Myers, Rec: 2 - 7 - 0 (2 targets) |
Myers caught his first NFL pass in the flat for a short gain, but was not thrown to again.
San Diego Chargers
| QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 16 - 25 - 249 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 4 - -2 - 0 |
Rivers has a built-in advantage of knowing that if he throws up a jump ball to his receivers, more often than not they're going to come down with the football. His first pass of the game was one such play, a 53 yard bomb to Malcom Floyd that he went up and snagged out of the air over Michael Huff. Rivers from that point forward stepped into each throw with confidence, was given plenty of time by his line, and was pretty much on-point en route to a 9-9 start. He did throw an interception that wasn't really his fault (it bounced off the hands of Vincent Jackson), but he did later find Jackson wide open in the end zone for a score as Rivers continually threw it to him. Rivers also had a stretch that saw him go just 1-6, as his timing was off and his passes were sailing. The Chargers were about to punt once more when Chris Chambers came up with a huge reception on third and ten to pick up 20 yards and pretty much seal the win away.
| RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 18 - 56 - 2 |
Tomlinson provided his owners a silver lining in what was yet another underwhelming performance. He didn't get much running room, and more often than not he was unable to shake many would-be tacklers, but there were two occasions on which he was able to break through the line and those both happened to come inside the ten yard line. Tomlinson scored two touchdowns, the first of which broke a San Diego streak of 22 consecutive games without a touchdown on their opening possession. It was a direct snap that he took into the end zone almost untouched. On the second score, he showed nice shiftiness around the would-be tacklers up front and made his way into the end zone for another touchdown. He also went over 12,000 yards on that same play. Despite these successes, however, there wasn't a ton to smile about. He averaged just over three yards per carry, though he did break a nice third down run in the fourth quarter for a nice gain. A few years ago, he probably would've turned the corner for the score but he clearly isn't quite the same runner he was back then.
| RB Darren Sproles, Rush: 5 - 38 - 0, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Sproles really demonstrated just how quickly he is able to get to top speed on several runs, and every time he got to the second level of the defense the defenders were almost back on their heels waiting for him to make his move first. He got close to breaking scores on two separate occasions, once being tripped up by the last man and once at the six yard line as he was pinned between tacklers (Tomlinson scored on the next play). He once again displayed excellent vision, cutting back against the grain in traffic on one occasion to pick up a first down. He did lose a fumble when he was hit from behind on a run up the middle, but the Charger offense was able to overcome it.
| RB Mike Tolbert, Rush: 2 - 6 - 0 |
Tolbert was mostly used in blocking situations, though he did get a rare carry on a short yardage handoff that he converted to a first down.
| WR Vincent Jackson, Rec: 8 - 103 - 1 (12 targets) |
Despite being defended by Nnamdi Asomugha for much of the first half, Jackson again turned in a huge first half performance for San Diego. He went from a quiet day to a great one in a matter of two drives, as Rivers continually looked his way for just about every kind of catch imaginable. He caught a deep ball, he snagged one out of the air, he dove on the ground, he snatched a pass in traffic, and finally he hauled in one in the end zone on a play in which he was left completely unguarded. He did have a ball bounce off his hands for an interception, but Rivers showed his supreme confidence in Jackson by immediately going right back to him after the miscue. He was open deep downfield early in the second half, but was overthrown by several yards by Rivers. And he was later targeted on a fade pattern in the end zone on a 50-50 jump ball, but the pass was just knocked away at the last moment on a nice play by Michael Huff.
| WR Malcom Floyd, Rec: 2 - 64 - 0 (4 targets) |
Floyd's first pass target of the game was a jump ball deep downfield for a 53 yard pickup over Michael Huff. He simply went high over the defender for the grab, something that has become fairly commonplace for him this season. He nearly had another sliding catch along the sideline for about twenty yards, and while he didn't come away with the catch he did draw an illegal contact flag. He was easily able to get open off the line against the much smaller Raider defensive backs, even though his stat line shows just the two receptions. With the release of Chris Chambers, Floyd should remain a starter for the rest of the season.
| WR Chris Chambers, Rec: 1 - 20 - 0 (1 targets) |
Chambers' stat line shows that he had just one reception, and it's true that he wasn't close to being a focal point in the offense. In fact, at this point he's probably at best the fifth option in the passing game. But make no mistake, he hauled in the absolute biggest pass of the game in this one. It was a terrific grab on his back shoulder on a third and ten pass play from the shadow of their own end zone. The previous pass to Antonio Gates had fallen incomplete because he was seemingly affected by the sun, but in almost the exact same spot on the field, Chambers had no issues. The Chargers had looked horrible offensively on their previous few possessions until the point of Chambers' catch, but it appeared to have inspired the team and they quickly marched downfield for a key field goal to go up by eight points. Still, the catch wasn't enough to save Chambers job, as he was released on Monday.
| WR Legedu Naanee, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Naanee had a short grab in the flat in the second quarter, but wasn't heard from much outside of that one minimal gain.
| TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 3 - 49 - 0 (6 targets) |
Gates isn't putting up the huge stats we've grown accustomed to over the years, but a lot of that has to do with the emergence of WRs Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd. Gates is still doing what's needed of him when his number is called. If it seems as if there's always someone open for San Diego, that's because there usually is. On one of those very plays, Gates took a swing pass in the left flat and sprinted up the sideline for a big gain after the catch. The play went for thirty yards and helped set up Tomlinson's second score of the game. He did have an issue with a pass along the sideline late in the game that he was unable to haul in because the sun was in his eyes, but he more than made up for that with a tough grab over the middle despite being drilled by Michael Huff. It resulted in a big first down and kept the chains moving as San Diego tried running out as much of the clock as they could.