Jacobs seals thrilling win for Raiders
Chargers’ play-off hopes in peril after hosts Oakland turn the tables with last-gasp touchdown
>> OAKLAND: Josh Jacobs’ 18-yard touchdown run with 1:02 minute left on Thursday lifted the Oakland Raiders to a 26-24 win over the visiting Los Angeles Chargers.
On third-and-1, Jacobs burst through a huge hole blown open by centre Rodney Hudson and left guard Richie Incognito, then broke an arm tackle near the 10 for the score. Daniel Carlson missed the ensuing extra-point attempt, but the Raiders hung on to improve to 5-4.
Los Angeles fell to 4-6, seriously damaging their play-off hopes.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers completed 17 of 31 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns, including a six-yard pass to Austin Ekeler with 4:02 minutes remaining in the game for a 24-20 lead.
But the Chargers’ final possession ended with a Karl Joseph interception at the Oakland 35 on a fourth-and-10 heave with 20 seconds left, Rivers’ third pick of the game.
Derek Carr hit on 21 of 31 passes for 218 yards with a touchdown for Oakland, who were outgained 315 yards to 278 and had the ball for only 25:50 minutes. However, the Raiders sacked Rivers five times and played a turnover-free game.
Melvin Gordon rushed 22 times for 108 yards and a score for Los Angeles, his first 100-yard game of the year.
Rivers came out of the gate in shaky fashion. Erik Harris intercepted him twice in the first nine minutes, the first one leading to a field goal and the second becoming a 56-yard touchdown return for a 10-0 Oakland lead.
Los Angeles finally found footing on offence with two secondquarter touchdowns in a 4:10minute span. Rivers flipped a two-yard scoring strike to tight end Hunter Henry, and Gordon gave the Chargers a 14-10 lead on a three-yard run with 4:14 minutes left in the half.
The Raiders’ offence then put together its first good drive to close the half. Oakland marched 76 yards in 10 plays, taking a 17-14 halftime lead when Carr found Alec Ingold for a nine-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds remaining.
The teams exchanged short field goals in the third quarter, setting the stage for a dramatic ending.
Meanwhile, Antonio Brown let loose with a profanity-filled tweet aimed at the NFL on Thursday, one week before he is scheduled to meet with the league to discuss the investigation into allegations of sexual assault and rape made against the wide receiver in a civil suit earlier this year.
“Imagine conforming to a system giving it a 100 percent to see them treat me like this is unfairly!” Brown wrote on Twitter. “Making money off my sweat and blood [expletive] the @nfl I’ll never play in that [expletive] treat black people the worse! Clear my name and go [expletive] your self.”
Brown later deleted the tweet and posted a new one, writing, “I’m just very frustrated right now with the false allegations and slander to my name. I love football and I miss it. I just want to play and I’m very emotional about that. I’m determined to make my way back to the NFL asap.”
Brown was cut by the Oakland Raiders on Sept 7 and then signed with the Patriots. He played in one game, catching four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown, before being released.