King’s Kourt: Raiders unplug the Chargers on Thursday Night Football

The Oakland Raiders ran their record to 5-4 with a Thursday night victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, and our Kenny King was there for it.

Last Thursday night, a fired up Oakland Raiders squad took the field and established dominance when Safety Erik Harris recorded his first of two interceptions early in the first quarter, with his second went for six. Just four days removed from a defensive performance that put the Raiders on the brink of a loss, defensive coordinator Paul Guenther dialed up a defensive game plan that exploited the aging arm of Chargers’ quarterback Phillip Rivers.

The Raiders applied pressure early and often leading to a season-high five sacks and three interceptions and a passer rating of 57.5.

Offensively, the Raiders started the game out flat with the first four offensive possessions resulting in one field goal, and three punts, the last of which placing the Chargers in Raiders territory. That allowed Chargers running back Melvin Gordon to open up the field with a 25-yard run that ultimately led to a 51-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown by Gordon following a well-timed offsides penalty called on the Raiders following another Erik Harris interception.

After the Raiders fell behind by four points, quarterback Derek Carr drove the team down 78 yards in less than four minutes to regain the lead on a play that Raider Nation knows all too well, “Spider 2 Y Banana” before receiving the ball back at the half.

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In a game that showed a strong turnaround from the defense, this was a hard-fought battle on both sides of the ball with the offense rising to the occasion when the game was on the line and taking the ball another 75 yards for a Josh Jacobs touchdown. In typical Raiders fashion, it had to get more stressful, as Daniel Carlson missed the extra point.

However, in the end the Raiders defense came up huge forcing Rivers to go 0-8, and throw a game-sealing interception to Karl Joseph, allowing Josh Jacobs to further extend his rushing average by recording two five yard carries to burn the clock down.

What we have seen from this team is a squad that fights hard, battles back and doesn’t quit. With the Raiders now sitting at 5-4, and a half game behind the Chiefs in the AFC West, this team is in the driver’s seat and is in control of their destiny.

The Raiders lost both Karl Joseph and Lamarcus Joyner in the game, but the Raiders have employed a “next man up” philosophy, adding veteran players DJ Swearinger and Dion Jordan this week to help bring the same intensity to the defense.

Raiders fourth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft Clelin Ferrell had his breakout game, recording a career-high 8 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one pass defended and three quarterback hits. Ferrell, a player who has played out of position at defensive tackle most of the season while battling through a concussion and an illness that caused a substantial weight loss, has taken a tremendous amount of heat this season due to his lack of pressures and sacks looked to have finally hit his stride while playing.

As the Raiders gear up this week to face the Bengals at home after a much-needed 10 day rest, they will face a team that even with zero wins on the season must not be overlooked and if the Raiders are handle business on Sunday the playoff picture continues to become brighter.