INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Justin Herbert broke a bone in his non-throwing hand during the Los Angeles Chargers' first offensive series Sunday. After covering it with a hard cast and a white glove, he spent the rest of the afternoon exclusively taking shotgun snaps and handing off to his running backs whenever possible.
By the time Maxx Crosby knocked Herbert to the ground in pure frustration over yet another third-down conversion in the fourth quarter, the quarterback and his Chargers firmly had the upper hand in this long-simmering rivalry.
Herbert threw touchdown passes to Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey, and Kimani Vidal made a 59-yard scoring run during a 31-14 victory over the spiraling Las Vegas Raiders.
Vidal rushed for a career-high 126 yards for the Chargers (8-4), who snapped back from an embarrassing loss at Jacksonville and won for their fourth win in five games to keep pressure on the Denver Broncos atop the AFC West. Los Angeles improved to 4-0 in the division.
Herbert will have surgery Monday on the unspecified broken bone on the back of his left hand, but he is optimistic he won't miss any playing time down the stretch.
“I did my best to go out there and take care of business, and I thought we ran the ball really well, so it was really cool to see,” Herbert said. “I'm treating it as if I'm playing (next) Monday.”
Jaret Patterson rushed for his first NFL touchdown since 2021 with 1:55 to play, helping Los Angeles beat its longtime West Coast rivals for the fourth straight time. The Chargers' comfortable victory underlined the current gulf between the Bolts and the Raiders (2-10), who had less support in the SoFi Stadium crowd than in past seasons.
Herbert didn't put up big numbers after he injured his left hand, apparently when he was thrown to the ground by Jeremy Chinn. Johnston fought through contact to score a 10-yard TD one play later, but Herbert went to the locker room and missed part of the next series.
“He's as tough as they come,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said.
Herbert finished 15 of 20 for 151 yards, improving on his career-low 81 yards passing against the Jaguars despite throwing a goal-line interception to Kyu Blu Kelly shortly after his return to the game. He threw only eight passes after halftime, but led a determined offense that converted 12 of its 17 third downs.
Geno Smith passed for 165 yards and threw two touchdown passes to Brock Bowers in the sixth consecutive loss by the Raiders, who have just one victory since Week 1.
At least the Raiders’ long-struggling offense showed mild improvement in its first game under interim offensive coordinator Greg Olson after high-priced Chip Kelly was fired a week ago.
Las Vegas’ 82-yard TD drive in the second quarter was the offense’s longest in four weeks, and the Raiders topped 10 points for the fourth time in eight games when Bowers made a ridiculous one-handed TD grab with 7:49 to play.
“No one knows how hard it is to step into that role when you haven’t been all season," Smith said of Olson's first game as play-caller. "To speak new terminology, to try to get players involved in the game ... but I thought he did a great job, and I’m really appreciative.”
But four-time Pro Bowl selection Crosby exemplified the Raiders' mood when he inexplicably floored Herbert at midfield several seconds after Herbert hit Johnston for a first down with 3:55 to play. The penalty handed 15 yards to the Bolts on a drive that ended in Patterson's TD.
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“I was hot about that,” Chargers safety Derwin James said. “I've got a good relationship with Maxx. I know he ain't that type of player. Hopefully he didn't try to do it on purpose.”
Herbert acknowledged he might have been celebrating his completion with a bit more zeal than necessary before he was knocked down by Crosby, who didn't speak to reporters.
“He had been getting after us all day, so I think it was just one of those plays where emotions got the best of him,” Herbert said. “I've got a ton of respect for him as a player.”
Tuli Tuipulotu had two of the Chargers’ five sacks while they limited the Raiders to 156 total yards, including just 31 on the ground.
Raiders coach Pete Carroll was proud of his defense's resilience in the first half, but felt the Bolts took control with Vidal's long TD run 57 seconds after halftime.
“I think we had three guys there that could make the play," Carroll said. “It winds up being a (59)-yard touchdown play. That was a backbreaking play in the game. And then we needed to respond, and we didn’t have it to respond, and so they get up by a couple scores, and that plays into their hands.”
The Chargers went up 21-7 on McConkey's 7-yard TD catch late in the third quarter.
Injuries
Raiders: WR Dont’e Thornton Jr. was ruled out with a concussion in the second half.
Chargers: Herbert has missed only four games in his career, all coming after he broke a finger on his left hand late in the 2023 season.
Up next
Raiders: Host Denver on Sunday.
Chargers: Host Philadelphia on Monday, Dec. 8.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
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