The Raiders were driving midway through the fourth quarter when head coach Antonio Pierce faced a choice.
Down 16-10, Las Vegas had fourth-and-1 from the Chargers’ 43-yard line.
What would you do there?
Pierce elected to punt, with the kick fair caught at Los Angeles’ 8.
But eight plays and 92 yards later, the Chargers had scored a touchdown to go up 22-10 — the game’s final score.
The Raiders’ defense had played well to that point, but Pierce’s decision to trust the unit did not pay off. Running back J.K. Dobbins gained 2 yards to move the chains on third-and-2 from the Chargers’ 16. Then a play later, Dobbins gained 61 yards on second-and-3 to put Los Angeles on the visitors’ 14.
On third-and-6 from the Las Vegas 10, Justin Herbert hit Ladd McConkey for the first touchdown of the rookie receiver’s career, putting the Chargers up by the winning margin.
Dobbins had just 8 yards in the first half but was terrific in the second as he finished with 135 yards on 10 carries. His 12-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter gave Los Angeles a 16-7 lead.
Herbert was 17-of-26 passing for 144 yards with a touchdown. McConkey finished with five receptions for 39 yards.
Chargers edge rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack also played well, as Bosa finished with seven tackles and a sack. Mack had 1.5 sacks on the day.
Las Vegas’ offense could not get much going and was plagued by turnovers. Minshew was not on the same page with a receiver and had a backward pass to no one go for a fumble in the first half. Running back Zamir White had the ball punched out while on a decent run for a fumble.
Minshew finished 25-of-33 for 257 yards with a touchdown and an interception. White had 44 yards on 13 carries. Davante Adams caught five passes for 59 yards. Making his debut, first-round pick Brock Bowers had six catches for 58 yards.
The only time the Raiders got into the end zone was a swing pass from Minshew to running back Alexander Mattison that went for 31 yards to the house.
Jim Harbaugh is now 1-0 as Chargers head coach, making his debut in the role over two decades after he was the team’s quarterback.
Pierce falls to 0-1 as the team’s permanent head coach after serving as interim coach last year.
Las Vegas will be on the road again next week when the club heads to the East Coast to face Baltimore.
The Chargers will also be on the East Coast, playing the Panthers in Charlotte.
Two players in Raiders-Chargers have been ejected.
After a skirmish following the Chargers’ unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter, Los Angeles receiver Joshua Palmer and Las Vegas cornerback Jack Jones were both disqualified from the contest.
Multiple players got involved with the skirmish outside the back of the end zone, with teammates coming in ostensibly in defense. But just Jones and Palmer were ejected.
The Chargers lead 22-10 with just under two minutes to go in the contest.
The Chargers have found the end zone for the first time in 2024.
Running back J.K. Dobbins has put Los Angeles up over Las Vegas by two possessions with a 12-yard touchdown.
Dobbins’ run capped a six-play, 61-yard drive to put Los Angeles in control of the game with 14:55 left in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders’ defense had been in control for most of the game, but Las Vegas’ offense is not holding up its end of the bargain — resulting in the defense being put in unfavorable positions.
Dobbins now has seven carries for 65 yards in his Chargers debut.
He was able to play just one game for Baltimore last year but certainly appears healthy to start 2024.
So far, Justin Herbert is 14-of-21 for 127 yards.
Through two quarters, the Raiders’ defense has looked right at home in Southern California.
That unit has been the best one on the field so far, with the Raiders leading the Chargers 7-6 at halftime.
Los Angeles has managed just two first downs and is 0-of-7 on third down, averaging only 3.6 yards per play. The club finished the first half with 83 total yards.
Defensive end Maxx Crosby has a sack, a tackle for loss, and two QB hits through the first two quarters.
The Chargers also had four false starts in the first half with a Raiders-heavy crowd at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The Chargers have gone to a silent snap count.
Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew even gave the Chargers a big opportunity late in the first half, as an apparent miscommunication led to a fumble when Minshew threw a backward pass to no one for a fumble. But despite starting on the Las Vegas 12-yard line, the Chargers could only gain 5 yards before Cameron Dicker hit a short field goal to make the score 7-6 with 26 seconds left in the half.
Herbert has completed 10-of-13 passes for 67 yards. Running back Gus Edwards has 8 yards rushing on six carries. Quentin Johnston leads with two catches for 22 yards.
On the other side, Minshew is 11-of-15 for 127 yards with a touchdown — a 31-yard pass to running back Alexander Mattison. In his debut, tight end Brock Bowers has two catches for 32 yards. Davante Adams has two catches for 29 yards.
Raiders defensive end Tyree Wilson is questionable to return with a knee injury.
The Raiders will receive the second-half kickoff.
Gardner Minshew has thrown his first touchdown as a Raider and Las Vegas has taken its first lead of the season.
Minshew hit Alexander Mattison with a swing pass to the right and the running back did the rest, going all the way for a 31-yard touchdown. That made the score 7-3, Raiders.
Mattison hurdled a defender in the process of getting to the end zone — a strong play for one of his first touches as a Raider.
Minshew has started the game 6-of-8 for 79 yards with a touchdown. Davante Adams has two catches for 30 yards.
On the other side, Cameron Dicker hit a 53-yard field goal with 4:22 left in the first quarter to open the scoring.
There are no real surprises on the inactives lists for the Raiders and Chargers.
For Las Vegas, running back Dylan Laube, cornerback Decamerion Richardson, safety Thomas Harper, linebacker Tommy Eichenbert, guard Jackson Powers-Johnson, and receiver Ramel Keyton
For Los Angeles, quarterback Taylor Heinicke, cornerback Tarheeb Still, running back Kimani Vidal, offensive lineman Jordan McFadden, receiver Brenden Rice, and defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe are inactive.
Heinicke is the designated third quarterback for L.A.
The first matchup between Antonio Pierce as Raiders head coach and Jim Harbaugh’s debut as Chargers head coach will kick off at 4:05 PT.
One day before the start of the 2024 regular season, the Raiders have lost a starting defensive end.
Via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com, the Raiders placed Malcolm Koonce on injured reserve with a knee injury that he suffered in practice this week.
Though Koonce will miss at least four games, Gutierrez reports that the injury could be season ending.
A third-round pick in 2021, Koonce had eight sacks in 17 games last year, with eleven starts.
The injury likely gives 2023 first-rounder Tyree Wilson the spot across from Maxx Crosby, beginning with Sunday’s game at the Chargers. Janarius Robinson is also in the mix.
The presence of Crosby and the addition of defensive tackle Christian Wilkins in free agency gives whoever plays the other edge position a great chance to face only single teams, consistently.
Chargers receiver DJ Chark will be sidelined for at least the next four games.
Los Angeles announced on Saturday that the Chark has been placed on injured reserve. Chark has been dealing with a hip injury and did not practice all week.
Chark signed a one-year deal with L.A. in May.
As a corresponding move, the Chargers have signed tight end Eric Tomlinson to the 53-man roster off the practice squad.
Additionally, linebacker Shaquille Quarterman has been elevated from the practice squad to the active roster for Sunday’s season opener against Las Vegas.
Wide receiver DJ Chark won’t take part in Jim Harbaugh’s first game as the Chargers head coach.
Chark has been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Raiders due to the hip injury that’s kept him out of practice this week. Chark signed a one-year deal with the Chargers this offseason and his absence leaves the Chargers with Quentin Johnston, Josh Palmer, Derius Davis, Simi Fehoko, Ladd McConkey, and Brenden Rice at receiver.
The Chargers also added cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. to the injury report on Friday. He was a limited participant due to a shoulder injury and has been listed as questionable to play.
Quarterback Justin Herbert (foot) fully participated in practice all week and has no injury designation. Cornerback Tarheeb Still (hip) is listed as questionable.
The Chargers will face the Raiders in the first game of the Jim Harbaugh era and it’s hard not to think about how the last meeting between the AFC West clubs factored into Harbaugh’s arrival in Los Angeles.
That meeting came in Week 15 last season and it saw the Raiders humiliate the Chargers 63-21 on the Chargers’ home field. The Chargers fired head coach Brandon Staley and General Manager Tom Telesco — who now holds the same job with the Raiders — the next day and Harbaugh was hired a little more than a month later.
Harbaugh has had a chance to put his stamp on the team over the last seven-plus months and safety Derwin James said he thinks the coach has the team in “a good spot,” although he added that the proof of that will have to come on the field.
“It definitely feels different because it’s new, everything is new for us,” James said, via Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register. “But all that don’t mean nothing. We’ve got to go out there and play Sunday. We’ve got a game against the Raiders. It’s a division game and we’ve just got to go out there and play.”
Harbaugh has won at every stop he’s made as a coach and the Chargers are banking on that continuing in his return to the NFL. We’ll find out how much of an instant impact he’s made on Sunday.