LAS VEGAS – The Los Angeles Chargers finished the first regular season of the Jim Harbaugh era with a 34-20 victory over the Raiders, clinching the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs.
The Chargers didn’t exactly have to play their starters on Sunday, but to say it was in their best interest would have been an understatement.
The win now means that Harbaugh and company will travel to Houston for a match up with the Texans, avoiding a meeting with his brother John and potential back-to-back MVP Lamar Jackson.
“Like we talked about at the beginning of the week, (our guys) want to win,” Harbaugh said. “They want to play good and they want to win. Today, they played great and won. I don't think the vibe was any different.”
Quentin Johnston led the Chargers with a career-high 186 receiving yards on 13 catches, while Justin Herbert completed 28-of-36 pass attempts on his way to torching the Raiders for 346 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey added 95 yards on five receptions.
“Starting with the quarterback,” Harbaugh said. “I'm not going to say unbelievable, because I see it every day. But there were throws that he was making that were 15-yard throws, 30-yard throws, 45-yard throws that were like handoffs (to him). They were right where you would put it if you were handing the ball off on a running play.
“(Johnston was making) tough catches, you know, ‘SportsCenter’ highlight catches.”
The Chargers performance was uninspiring for most of the first half, but they still managed to bring a 17-10 lead into halftime after scoring 11 straight points in the final 1:10 of the second quarter.
Cameron Dicker drained a 49-yard field goal to cut Vegas’ lead to 10-9 with 1:01 remaining in the first half, before linebacker Daiyan Henley intercepted an ill-advised pass by Aidan O’Connell and took it to the Raiders’ 30-yard line with 0:44 remaining in the half.
It only took Herbert and company four plays and 30 seconds from there, as the quarterback found DJ Chark in the end zone for a go-ahead six-yard touchdown pass (and Ladd McConkey for the two-point conversion) with 0:14 remaining in the second quarter.
Vegas struck paydirt first after both teams traded field goals in the first half. Aidan O’Connell found a wide open Jakobi Meyers with 13:09 remaining in the second quarter as Meyers shook cornerback Kristian Fulton out of his shoes with a highlight-reel double move and waltzed uncovered into the end zone for the 25-yard score.
The Chargers pushed their lead to 14-points early in the fourth quarter, as Herbert found a completely uncovered Will Dissly for a three-yard touchdown. Herbert put the Chargers in position for the touchdown, taking a 41-yard run to the Raiders’ two-yard line just two plays before.
Haasan Haskins scored his second career touchdown with 3:43 remaining, as the rookie out of Michigan finished with 33 yards rushing on 12 carries.