Chargers outlast da Raidas in OT

Drew Brees had his second straight terrific game to help his Chargers overcome their own questionable coaching decisions and the Oakland Raiders 37-34 in overtime. The Raiders took the opening kickoff and went 3 and out. For the second straight week, Brees lead the team down the field for an opening drive touchdown. LaDainian Tomlinson charged up the middle from 2 yards out and the Chargers had an early 7-0 lead. Terry Kirby returned the ensuing kickoff 54 yards to the San Diego 37. Three plays later the drive stalled at the San Diego 28, and on 4th and 1, Sebastian Janikowski hit a 45 yard field goal to trim the lead to 7-3. Brees again directed the Chargers right down the field and completed a 17 yard touchdown pass to Kassim Osgood to give San Diego a 14-3 lead with 5:04 left in the first quarter. It was then Rich Gannon’s turn. Gannon quickly directed the Raiders 67 yards, finishing the drive with a 15 yard touchdown pass to Jerry Porter to cut San Diego’s lead to 14-10 at the end of the first quarter. At the start of the second quarter a Chargers drive stalled out at midfield, and Mike Scifres punt rolled out of bounds at the Raiders 3 yard line. Gannon shocked the San Diego crowd with a quick 28 yard play action pass to Jerry Rice and then another 69 yard crossing pattern to Rice for a 2 play, 97 yard touchdown drive to give Oakland a 17-14 lead with 11:04 left in the first half. Jerry Rice went over the 100 yard receiving mark in the first 20 minutes of the game, but he never caught another pass as San Diego blanketed him for the remainder of the game. Another Chargers drive stalled at midfield, but this time the punt found the end zone and Rich Gannon started at his own 20. Gannon drove the Raiders down to the San Diego 36, but when the drive stalled, Janikowski blasted a 53 yard field goal to give the Raiders a 20-14 lead with 3:38 left in the first half. Following a touchback, Drew Brees engineered a great two minute offensive drive down to the Raiders 2 yard line. But on fourth down, Coach Lowe elected to pass on the gimme field goal and instead went for the lead. Travian Smith crashed into the backfield to sack Brees and preserved the Raiders 20-14 lead at halftime.

The Chargers still stunned after being turned away at the Raiders goal line received the second half kickoff and Tim Dwight returned it 37 yards out to the Chargers 41. Drew Brees again directed the Chargers down the field and they faced a 4th and 2 at the Raiders 12 yard line. This time, LaDainian Tomlinson followed his offensive line up the middle. The initial surge looked like he had converted the first down, but the measurement showed otherwise as the Chargers were again stopped on downs deep in Raider territory. The Raiders spent 3 plays going backwards and after the punt the Chargers were back in business at the Raiders 40 yard line. This time, Brees wasted little time and directed the Chargers all the way to the end zone with a 13 yard touchdown pass to Eric Parker. Nate Kaeding’s extra point put the Chargers back in front 21-20. Oakland again went 3 and out and the Chargers started at their own 46. Brees drove down to the Oakland 24, but when the drive stalled Kaeding hit a 41 yard field goal to put the Chargers up 24-20. On the next drive Rich Gannon hit Tim Brown on a long 29 yard completion to the San Diego 27, but when the drive stalled at the 14 at the start of the fourth quarter, Janikowski hit his third field goal to cut San Diego’s lead to 1, 24-23. On the next kickoff, Tim Dwight did what he does best, and raced 59 yards to set up San Diego at the Oakland 24. Two plays later, Drew Brees found Antonio Gates in the end zone to put the Chargers up 31-23 with 13:01 left in the game. This time it was Terry Kirby’s turn on a return as he went for 60 yards down to the San Diego 27. On the first play Gannon found Tim Brown for a 27 yard touchdown pass. Gannon then found Charlie Garner alone in the end zone on the 2 point conversion and the game was tied at 31. The Chargers then went 3 and out, but on 4th and 3, Mike Scifres caught the Raiders in return mode and tried to run for the first down. Despite having the wrong defense, the Raiders stopped him cold and took over at the San Diego 28. The Raiders could get no closer than the 23 and Janikowski hit his fourth field goal to give the Raiders their final lead at 34-31 with 9:49 left in regulation. Tim Dwight again electrified the crowd with a 43 yard kickoff return out to midfield, but he was injured on the play (and could be out for a month). Drew Brees lead the Chargers on a 5 minute drive down to the Oakland 26, but when the drive sputtered, Kaeding added his second field goal to tie the game at 34 with 4:05 left. After both teams went 3 and out, the Raiders started at their own 34 with 1:09 left in regulation. Rich Gannon found Jerry Porter along the sideline at the Oakland 45 to give them a first down, but the drive stalled giving San Diego one last chance. Brees started with only 22 seconds left from his own 21 following the Raider punt. Brees found Kassim Osgood for 16 out to the 37 and then hit Reche Caldwell for 12 to the 49 yard line. With 2 seconds left, his hail mary pass to Reche Caldwell fell incomplete and the game headed to overtime.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, they guessed wrong on the coin toss and were forced to kick to start overtime. Jesse Chatman filling in for an injured Tim Dwight had a nice return of 28 yards and San Diego set up with 1st an 10 at their own 39. Tomlinson got nothing on a 1st down run, but Brees found Ryan Krause for 10 and Eric Parker for 9. On 2nd and 1 at the Oakland 42, Lorenzo Neal barreled up the middle for 6 yards and the Chargers were at the edge of field goal range. On first down, Brees tried to find Keenan McCardell but was unable to complete the pass. LaDainian Tomlinson ran outside for 5 and was pushed out of bounds at the Raiders 31. A costly false start backed the Chargers up to the 36 and they faced a key 3rd and 10. Rather than trying to set up a long Kaeding field goal in the center of the field, Brees elected to pass. He found Keenan McCardell all alone and McCardell raced to the Raiders 8 yard line. Having seen enough, Coach Lowe sent Kaeding onto the field on first down and he kicked a 25 yard field goal to give San Diego a 37-34 victory.

For the second straight week, Drew Brees played at an MVP level as he was 30-47 for 373 yards and 3 touchdowns. LaDianian Tomlinson rushed for 101 yards putting him over the century mark for the second straight week. Keenan McCardell added 138 yards receiving for San Diego. For the Raiders, Rich Gannon lead the way with a 21-36 for 302 yards and 3 touchdowns passing performance. Jerry Rice had 3 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown, but had no catches in the last 44 minutes of the game. The Chargers improved to 2-0 and the Raiders dropped to 0-2.
--submitted by John Lowe--