Raiders vs Chargers 2023 Week 15: Studs and Duds

Coming off the embarrassing 3–0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14, it was hard to predict what we would get from the Raiders in their matchup on Thursday night football. The Los Angeles Chargers would be without their star quarterback, Justin Herbert, and number one wide receiver, Keenan Allen but even without two of their best players, it was a divisional matchup with a little more than bragging rights on the line.

What we definitely did not predict was that the Raiders would come out like gangbusters, and the Chargers would look like they fell asleep at the wheel. Through a combination of early turnovers and domination of the line of scrimmage, the Raiders jumped out to an early lead, and never looked back.

Before we knew it, the Raiders had tied the record for most points scored in a first half, and by the end of the game had set a new franchise record for most points ever scored in a game. 

The only downside to the game was that the Raiders were not able to get a shut out but once you are up by 40 points, it’s hard to keep playing with the same level of intensity. This is definitely a feather in the cap for Antonio Pierce in judging from Mark Davis, his reactions in his suite, he was enjoying every single minute of it. This was a far cry from the horrible offensive display just a few days earlier and could sway Mark Davis’s decision in the off-season but more on that later.

Next up for the Raiders is a trip to icy Arrowhead Stadium on Christmas day and we hope they leave some coal in Patrick Mahomes’ stocking. Before that however, let’s look back at the studs and duds from a rollicking beat down in week 15.