Las Vegas Raiders vs Los Angeles Chargers Box Score on Dec 18, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Dec 18, 2016

SAN DIEGO -- The Oakland Raiders clinched a playoff berth by beating the San Diego Chargers 19-16 on Sunday afternoon.

Oakland (11-3) advances to the postseason for the first time since 2002.

San Diego (5-9) lost its third straight game and for the 12th occasion in its last 13 games against AFC West foes.

The Raiders, whose fans dominated the season-high crowd of 68,352 at Qualcomm Stadium, forged ahead on Sebastian Janikowski's 44-yard field goal with 2:40 left. It was his fourth field goal of the game.

Derek Carr kept the drive alive by running for a first down on a third-and-8 on the San Diego 29.

Carr completed 19 of 30 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown, with an interception.

Philip Rivers was 17-of-30 for 206 yards and two touchdowns and a pick.

Rivers was intercepted by Reggie Nelson on the last-place Bolts' last play.

Janikowski converted a 21-yard field goal to tie the score at 16-16 with eight minutes to play. The Raiders had a first down at the Chargers 1 after recovering a Kenneth Farrow fumble, but couldn't reach the end zone.

Rivers notched his second scoring pass when clicking with Hunter Henry midway through the third quarter on a 7-yard touchdown. Rivers was 5-for-5 on the drive, with Dontrelle Inman getting 53 receiving yards.

Henry's touchdown pushed the Chargers back ahead, 16-13, as Josh Lambo missed the extra point.

The Raiders took their first lead of the game on the initial series of the second half. Janikowski kicked his second field goal of the game, from 33 yards, for a 13-10 advantage.

The Raiders tied the game, 10-10, after shredding the Chargers' run defense in the last 90 seconds of the half. Carr took care of the final 13 yards, hitting Michael Crabtree for a touchdown, a play that was flipped after initially being ruled an incomplete pass.

Josh Lambo's 35-yard field goal in the half's final minutes extended the Chargers' cushion to 10-3.

Oakland had their second red-zone turnover in consecutive possessions when Trovon Reed intercepted Carr at San Diego 6-yard line in the second quarter. Carr, who had 9.7 quarterback rating in last week's loss to the Chiefs, tried to force the pass into tight coverage and paid for it.

The Raiders looked poised to take the lead, late in the first quarter. But Latavius Murray fumbled for the first time this season, coughing it up at the Charger 9-yard line. Melvin Ingram caused it and Kyle Emanuel recovered it.

Janikowski's 45-yard field goal in the first quarter pulled the Raiders to within 7-3.

The Chargers struck first with a 47-yard strike from Rivers to Travis Benjamin in capping a game-opening, 91-yard drive. Benjamin, who has had some notable drops this year, got behind Sean Smith in single coverage for the early score. That 37-yard reception gave Benjamin more receiving yards than he had in his previous four games.

NOTES: Raiders DT Stacy McGee (ankle) and SS Karl Joseph (toe) were absent from the lineup. ... DE Khalil Mack recorded a sack in his ninth straight game. ... QB Derek Carr became the second player in franchise history to have multiple 3,500-yard passing seasons. ... Chargers RB Melvin Gordon (hip, knee) didn't play. Undrafted rookie Kenneth Farrow got his first NFL start. ... CB Trevor Williams replaced Craig Mager (shoulder). ... LT King Dunlap exited the game with a leg injury.