Los Angeles Chargers at Oakland Raiders: 5 takeaways from Week 10

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OAKLAND, CA – NOVEMBER 11: Travis Benjamin #12 of the Los Angeles Chargers is tackled by Shilique Calhoun #91 of the Oakland Raiders during their NFL game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on November 11, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Inspired defense early on

The Raiders defense may have heard the criticism from their 34-3 loss in Week 9 as they actually played inspired football at the onset of the game. Oakland trailed just 10-3 going into halftime, and the reality is that the score should have been 3-3 if not for a Derek Carr fumble that helped invigorate the Los Angeles offense.

After the Raiders turnover and subsequent score the Chargers offense managed to score two more times for a consecutive three drives in which they put points on the board. We’ve been hounding the Oakland defense for weeks to step up and make an impact and for the better portion of the game it looks like they heard the message loud and clear.

They contained Melvin Gordon to the best of their ability as the Raiders actually won the rushing battle, and they also managed to bring down Philip Rivers for a sack and nab an interception in the air. We’ve still yet to see the defense play solid for the entirety of all four quarters, but it was a pleasant surprise to see this unit play better than the offense.

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