Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, center, is confronted by Los Angeles Chargers players after Tillery hit Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert late as Herbert ran out of bounds during the first half at So Fi Stadium in Inglewood on Sun Oct 1, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Los Angeles Chargers (2-2) were able to get past the Las Vegas Raiders (1-3) Sunday afternoon thanks to Kalil Mack’s six sacks coupled with three Justin Herbert’s touchdowns. The final was 24-17 in favor of Los Angeles. The six sacks from Mack was a franchise record for a single game.

Sunday afternoon the NFL entered the fourth week of the season. The Raiders took on the Chargers in Inglewood at SoFi Stadium. The Raiders were without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo who is still on concussion protocol and ruled out for today’s game.

Going into the game the Raiders had to choose between Aidan O’Connell, who was a fourth-round draft pick without a single regular season game under his belt. The other choice, another shaky one, Brian Hoyer who has not won an NFL start since October of 2016 and has lost 12 straight starts.

It’s a very concerning situation for the Raiders so early in the season. We’ve seen terrible quarterback situations throughout the NFL to start 2023 and we have also seen how it can disable an entire team.

After the opening quarter this game was tied at seven. The Chargers were first up on the scoreboard. Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert rushed for 12 yards at 10:38 taking the early 7-0. The Raiders answered right back when their quarterback rushed for one yard and a touchdown with .45 seconds left on the clock in the first quarter.

Los Angeles took over in the second quarter of the game. The Chargers got the quarter going with a 33 yard field goal. They would follow this up with a Herbert pass to Keenan Allen for seven yards and the Chargers had a 17-7 lead. Justin Herbert would score his second rushing touchdown of the game, this one another one yard rush. At the half, the Chargers had a 24-7 lead.

The Chargers did not score in the second half of play. The Raider defense held up their end of the deal but the Las Vegas offense not so much. They did score a field goal in the third quarter, a 22 yard kick from Daniel Carlson. The Raiders now trailed by the score of 24-10.

Las Vegas had an opportunity in the fourth quarter when Josh Jacobs rushed for one yard and the touchdown; they were seven points away from tying this game. Throughout the game, Khalil Mack recorded six sacks making life pretty miserable for O’Connell. The Raiders did have the ball in the closing minutes but failed to score. The final was 24-17.

It was an up and down game for the Raiders. O’Connell had three fumbles losing two of them and he also had an interception for the three turnovers. He passed for 238 yards. Josh Jacobs had eight catches for 81 yards and Davante Adams had 75 reception yards. Jacobs also turned in 58 rushing yards.

The Raiders had some great chances in the second half. Their defense held tight but the offense just came up short despite scoring twice, once in the third quarter and again in the final quarter. Las Vegas now drops to 1-3 for the season.

In week 5, the Raiders will meet the Green Bay Packers in a Monday night showdown. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 5:15 PM. The Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is projected to start this game.

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