The good news is that the Raiders held a one point lead at the half of this game. The bad news — aside from the fact that they lost that lead — is that they only scored once to get that early lead.
The second half brought very little scoring from the Raiders while the Chargers eventually found the cracks in the defense to run away with this one. Let’s look at why.
Busters
T Kolton Miller
I can’t recall Miller ever having a game this bad. Not even as a rookie. He simply had a horrendous outing.
Even starting the game with a nine-yard completion, the Raiders went three-and-out. That’s because on the next two plays, Miller got beat to give up run stuffs for no gain. The next drive, the Raiders were in fourth and one and opted to go for it. And Miller was beaten again to give up a tackle for loss.
Another three-and-out to begin the second quarter because Miller gave up a pressure that flushed Gardner Minshew from the pocket and his scramble was stopped at one yard. Next drive he gave up a sack. The drive after that he gave up a pressure for an incompletion.
The Raiders needed to answer after the Chargers got their first touchdown of the day to take a 16-7 lead. They had a nice looking drive going, but it was upended when Miller gave up a sack. They settled for a field goal and didn’t come any closer after that.
HC Antonio Pierce
When to be aggressive and when to live to play another down was something Pierce seemed to struggle with in this game.
They found themselves in 4th and one from their own 41 midway through the first quarter and no score. This would seem like one of those times you just punt it away. But no, Pierce thought this was the time to show his aggressive nature. He called for the Raiders to go for it, handed it to Zamir White and he was stuffed for a loss. The Chargers only needed a few yards to get into field goal range and took the 3-0 lead.
With the game still 9-7 in the third quarter, the Raiders lined up in third and seven at the 32. It was clear the moment they lined up that they were playing for the field goal. Gardner Minshew scanned the field for a moment and then ditched it, just as he was told he should rather than risk anything. Then Daniel Carlson came out and missed the 49-yard field goal. Wasted drive.
The big one, however, came with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter with the Raiders down 16-10. They had added a field goal on their previous drive to make it a one-score game. Then the defense stopped the Chargers for…
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