While San Diego may have already been eliminated from playoff contention, you could tell from the kickoff that they were intent on preventing Oakland from winning the division. Philip Rivers was in the kind of form that very few other quarterbacks have ever produced, with his nagging injury long in the past. This was another season where probably the best overall team in the division will find themselves at home during the postseason.
For the Raiders, they couldn’t stand the pressure in front of their home fans when the Broncos were losing to the Chiefs, opening up the chance at the AFC West crown. It was their front four that won them the first matchup, sacking Rivers six times. This time, with Jared Gaither controlling the dangerous Kamerion Wimbley, Norv Turner was able to call up the vertical pass plays which are such a staple of the Chargers’ offense and gash Oakland through the air.
San Diego – Three Performances of Note
Rivers on fine form
It will go largely unnoticed but Philip Rivers (+9.4) put in one of the best performances by a quarterback all season. He was on point in the intermediate and deep passing game completing 11-of-16 passes for 240 yards, three touchdowns and a pick on throws deeper than ten yards downfield. Rivers also did a great job of organising his protection and exploiting the Raiders’ blitzes. On the 16 times Oakland sent extra rushers, he completed 75% of his passes (at 10.6 yards per attempt) and a touchdown.
Floyd dominates
Malcolm Floyd (+4.1) proved Rivers’ favourite target. With his quarterback rarely under pressure, Floyd took full advantage of a banged up Oakland secondary. He caught 7-of-9 on balls thrown towards him for 127 yards and a touchdown. Floyd’s TD grab was a thing of beauty – he used his big frame to shield the defender from a back shoulder throw down the sideline before cutting inside the safety and into the endzone. The Charger wide receiver finished the season fifth at his position purely for receiving with an impressive 2.56 yards per Pass Route Run.
Continued problems at end
The Chargers have seemingly been needing help at the five technique forever and they still don’t see to have solved their problem. Corey Liuget (-1.8) was drafted in the first round to try and help that but he’s consistently graded negatively all season. Incumbents Vaughn Martin (-2.8) and Jacques Cesaire (-0.5) also struggled. Only pass rush specialist Tommie Harris (+2.1) had any success and he’s no more than a stop gap. The group combined for just a solitary pressure (by Harris) on a combined 99 rushes.
Oakland – Three Performances of Note
Palmer impresses
After struggling in the past few games Carson Palmer bounced back against the Chargers (+5.9). Just like Rivers, Palmer’s deep accuracy was impressive. He completed 14-of-22 passes beyond ten yards for over 300 yards, two touchdowns and one pick (when the game was already over). Unlike his counterpart however he struggled when blitzed, compiling a QB rating of just 52.5. Palmer ended the year 16th amongst cornerbacks, a position he’ll need to improve if the Oakland front office are to be vindicated in giving up so much for him.
Veldheer flashes potential
A few more performances like the one he put in on Sunday are surely on the cards for left tackle Jared Veldheer (+5.6). It was his fourth perfect game in pass protection and while he didn’t have the toughest matchup (Antwan Barnes was ejected and Shaun Philips injured), it’s impressive nonetheless. His pass protection wasn’t even the aspect of his game which stood out the most; instead that was his run blocking (+3.4). Veldheer had success against almost all the Charger defenders grading negatively on the ground just once.
Horrific end to the season for rookie Wisniewski
Stefan Wisniewski (-7.1) had been having a solid season until he faced the Chargers. He allowed a pair of pressures in pass protection to Cam Thomas and Antonio Garay as well as a hit to the former which was only negated by penalty. Overall he finished with a pass blocking efficiency of 96.3 on the season, just below average for guards. It was his run blocking which was so disappointing however as he allowed five tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage. Wisniewski graded at -1.0 on six occasions in just 24 plays, an alarmingly poor stat.
Game notes
– Just three different players generated pressure for the Raiders
– The Chargers offensive line allowed Rivers to be knocked down just once
– Despite being hampered by injury, Antonio Garay generated five combined pressures
PFF Game ball
Philip Rivers had the type of game that made you think we hadn’t normalised our grades for QBs
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