Josh Jacobs’ 18-yard touchdown run with 1:02 left Thursday night lifted the Oakland Raiders to a 26-24 win over the visiting Los Angeles Chargers.
On third-and-1, Jacobs burst through a huge hole blown open by center Rodney Hudson and left guard Richie Incognito, then broke an arm tackle near the 10 for the score. Daniel Carlson missed the ensuing extra-point attempt, but the Raiders hung on to improve to 5-4.
Los Angeles fell to 4-6, seriously damaging its playoff hopes.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers completed 17 of 31 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns, including a 6-yard pass to Austin Ekeler with 4:02 remaining in the game for a 24-20 lead. But the Chargers’ final possession ended with a Karl Joseph interception at the Oakland 35 on a fourth-and-10 heave with 20 seconds left, Rivers’ third pick of the game.
Derek Carr hit on 21 of 31 passes for 218 yards with a touchdown for Oakland, which was outgained 315 yards to 278 and had the ball for only 25:50. However, the Raiders sacked Rivers five times and played a turnover-free game.
Melvin Gordon rushed 22 times for 108 yards and a score for Los Angeles, his first 100-yard game of the year.
Rivers came out of the gate in shaky fashion. Erik Harris intercepted him twice in the first nine minutes, the first one leading to a field goal and the second becoming a 56-yard touchdown return for a 10-0 Oakland lead.
Los Angeles finally found footing on offense with two second-quarter touchdowns in a 4:10 span. Rivers flipped a 2-yard scoring strike to tight end Hunter Henry, and Gordon gave the Chargers a 14-10 lead on a 3-yard run with 4:14 left in the half.
The Raiders’ offense then put together its first good drive to close the half. Oakland marched 76 yards in 10 plays, taking a 17-14 halftime lead when Carr found Alec Ingold for a 9-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds remaining.
The teams exchanged short field goals in the third quarter, setting the stage for a dramatic ending.
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