Winless teams always seem to find new, creative ways to lose.
On Sunday, that was certainly true of the Oakland Raiders, who fell to 0-10 Sunday with a 13-6 loss to the Chargers in San Diego.
On their first offensive play of the day, from their own 22-yard line, a shotgun snap to quarterback Derek Carr turned into a fumble that was recovered by San Diego. Immediately, the Chargers turned it into a touchdown on a 22-yard pass from Philip Rivers to Malcom Floyd.
It would be the only touchdown of the day for either team in a game that would have been 6-6 otherwise.
The game turned into a defensive struggle and puntfest after that first possession, with both offenses incapable of sustaining drives. Punters Marquette King and Mike Scifres each had nine punts.
The Raiders – as has often been the case this season – made things interesting late. They drove to the San Diego 7 for a field with 4:06 remaining to cut the deficit to seven points. Then, after getting the ball back with 1:05 remaining, were able to get out to their own 41 with just seconds remaining on a a 28-yard pass from Carr to James Jones. But Carr’s final Hail Mary pass toward the end zone fell incomplete.
The Raiders are not only winless in 2014 but have a losing streak now up to 16 games. The one-year anniversary of their last victory is Monday.
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The Raiders played much better defensively against the Chargers in their second meeting of the season, holding them to just 300 total yards. In their first matchup, Rivers alone threw for 313 yards and three TDs. This time, the Raiders sacked him twice, put pressure on him constantly and allowed him to complete just 22 or 34 throws for 193 yards.
Carr was 16-of-34 for 172 yards, with no interceptions, though also often under pressure.
One bright spot for Oakland was running back Latavius Murray, who finally got a chance to run the football and gained 43 yards on just four attempts.
The Raiders now have a difficult task, having to regroup in time to host the Chiefs on Thursday night football at O.co Coliseum. Kansas City looked very strong Sunday in defeating the Super Bowl-champion Seahawks 24-20.
