The Raiders were driving midway through the fourth quarter when head coach Antonio Pierce faced a choice.
Down 16-10, Las Vegas had fourth-and-1 from the Chargers’ 43-yard line.
What would you do there?
Pierce elected to punt, with the kick fair caught at Los Angeles’ 8.
But eight plays and 92 yards later, the Chargers had scored a touchdown to go up 22-10 — the game’s final score.
The Raiders’ defense had played well to that point, but Pierce’s decision to trust the unit did not pay off. Running back J.K. Dobbins gained 2 yards to move the chains on third-and-2 from the Chargers’ 16. Then a play later, Dobbins gained 61 yards on second-and-3 to put Los Angeles on the visitors’ 14.
On third-and-6 from the Las Vegas 10, Justin Herbert hit Ladd McConkey for the first touchdown of the rookie receiver’s career, putting the Chargers up by the winning margin.
Dobbins had just 8 yards in the first half but was terrific in the second as he finished with 135 yards on 10 carries. His 12-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter gave Los Angeles a 16-7 lead.
Herbert was 17-of-26 passing for 144 yards with a touchdown. McConkey finished with five receptions for 39 yards.
Chargers edge rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack also played well, as Bosa finished with seven tackles and a sack. Mack had 1.5 sacks on the day.
Las Vegas’ offense could not get much going and was plagued by turnovers. Minshew was not on the same page with a receiver and had a backward pass to no one go for a fumble in the first half. Running back Zamir White had the ball punched out while on a decent run for a fumble.
Minshew finished 25-of-33 for 257 yards with a touchdown and an interception. White had 44 yards on 13 carries. Davante Adams caught five passes for 59 yards. Making his debut, first-round pick Brock Bowers had six catches for 58 yards.
The only time the Raiders got into the end zone was a swing pass from Minshew to running back Alexander Mattison that went for 31 yards to the house.
Jim Harbaugh is now 1-0 as Chargers head coach, making his debut in the role over two decades after he was the team’s quarterback.
Pierce falls to 0-1 as the team’s permanent head coach after serving as interim coach last year.
Las Vegas will be on the road again next week when the club heads to the East Coast to face Baltimore.
The Chargers will also be on the East Coast, playing the Panthers in Charlotte.
