Chargers Hold off Raiders in Opener

By Tim Peterson

(Inglewood)- The Chargers jumped out to a 17-3 halftime lead and then held on to beat the Raiders 24-19 Sunday in the 2022 NFL opener before 70, 240 at SoFi Stadium.

The two teams exchanged field goals in the first quarter. Dustin Hopkins kicked a 43- yard field goal for the Chargers on the opening possession. On the Raiders initial series Daniel Carlson booted a 23-yarder to tie it at 3.

The Chargers grabbed the lead for good when Zander Horvath, rookie from Purdue, hauled in a one-yard pass from Justin Herbert to cap an 8-play, 67- yard drive. The Chargers took a 10-3 lead with 9:34 left in the second quarter.

The Raiders were trying to make something happen late in the second quarter but Drue Tranquill picked off a Derek Carr pass and returned it to the Raider 30 yard line to set up another Chargers score. Two plays later Herbert hit DeAndre Carter over the middle for a 23-yard touchdown strike to make it 17-3 with 35 seconds left in the first half.

The Chargers took the two touchdown lead into the break.

The Raiders took the opening possession of the third quarter and drove 75 yards on 5 plays. A 41-yard pass from Carr to Davante Adams highlighted the drive. Carr hit Brandon Bolden for an 18-yard score to cut the lead to 17-10.

The Chargers responded with an 11-play, 73-yard drive. Herbert connected with Gerald Everett for an 18-yard touchdown to put LA back up by 14 with 6:42 left in the third quarter.

Carlson kicked a 55-yard field goal with 1:03 left in the third quarter for the Raiders to make it 24-13.

Assante Samuel Jr. pulled down an interception at the two-yard line early in the fourth quarter as Carr tried to connect with Adams on a deep corner route.

Later in the fourth Adams caught a three-yard touchdown pass from Carr. A two-point conversion attempt failed leaving the Chargers up 24-19 with 4:32 remaining.

The Raiders got the ball back with 1:38 left but Carr was sacked on fourth down and the Chargers ran out the clock.

For the Raiders Carr completed 22 of 37 for 295 yards and two scores but was hurt by the three picks. Adams had a big game with 10 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown and tight end Darren Waller caught 4 for 79 yards. Josh Jacobs led the rushing attack with 57 yards on 10 carries.

The Chargers never established a rushing attack as Austin Ekeler led the way running for 36 yards on14 carries. But the Chargers were efficient through the air. Herbert was 26 of 34 for 279 yards and 3 touchdowns without an interception. He spread the wealth around. Keenan Allen had 4 receptions for 66 yards before leaving in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. Carter caught 3 for 64 and a touchdown and Everett had 3 for 54 and a score.

The Chargers, fresh off the opening day win over the Raiders, will have an even more difficult task this week when they travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs Thursday night.

2 Comments to "Chargers Hold off Raiders in Opener"

  1. Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man's Gravatar Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man
    September 13, 2022 - 5:51 pm | Permalink

    @ Silver & Black: But they’ll gratefully accept the money, either way. I’ll bet that the TV ratings were pretty good, too. You take what you can get, right?
    It might get even better for the Chargers if they can become a consistent winner in Los Angeles. I think there could still be a tremendous upside for them here.
    Perhaps Chargers beat writer Tim Peterson could provide his insider’s perspective on this topic.

  2. Silver and Black's Gravatar Silver and Black
    September 12, 2022 - 1:12 pm | Permalink

    The Chargers have now become the football version of Donald Sterling’s Clippers. They draw big crowds who are there to see the visiting team.

Leave a Reply