Chargers thump Raiders, set up wild-card matchup with Texans

LAS VEGAS — The Chargers handled their business Sunday, defeating the Las Vegas Raiders 34-20 and booking an AFC wild-card date with the fourth-seeded Houston Texans next weekend on the road. The Chargers’ victory coupled with the Cincinnati Bengals’ win Saturday over the Pittsburgh Steelers vaulted them to fifth.

Justin Herbert threw for 346 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Chargers (11-6) past the Raiders (4-13). Quentin Johnston caught 13 passes for 186 yards. The Chargers clinched a playoff spot with a victory in Week 17 over the New England Patriots. They jumped to fifth from sixth Sunday.

Herbert topped 300 yards passing for the 27th time in his career.

The Chargers’ play in the first half was, in a word, uninspired.

Cameron Dicker kicked three field goals and they trailed the Raiders 10-9 with mere seconds to go. Dicker had missed a 51-yard field goal. Joey Bosa was penalized for lining up in the neutral zone on consecutive plays. Trey Pipkins III was whistled for holding, nullifying a Derius Davis touchdown catch.

Suddenly, in a nanosecond, the Chargers’ fortunes changed.

Linebacker Daiyan Henley intercepted an errant pass from Raiders quarterback Aiden O’Connell at the Las Vegas 35-yard line with 38 seconds left in the half. Presented with a gift, Herbert connected with DJ Chark on a 6-yard touchdown and then with Ladd McConkey on a two-point conversion.

It took only 28 seconds for the Chargers to alter the momentum, taking a 17-10 lead into halftime. Herbert completed 18 of 25 passes for 225 yards and one touchdown. Chark’s first touchdown catch of the season sent Chargers fans in the crowd into a frenzy with 10 seconds left in the half.

Herbert’s two-point conversion pass to McConkey heightened the energy in the arena. McConkey celebrated by throwing the ball deep into the stands and toward a group of fans dressed in power blue. The sequence seemed just the thing to snap the Chargers from their lackluster play.

Daniel Carlson kicked a 40-yard field goal and O’Connell threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers for the Raiders’ first-half scores. The Chargers countered with Dicker’s field goals from 33, 32 and 49, the last of which cut their deficit to 10-9 with 1:05 remaining in the half.

The Chargers increased their lead to 20-10 on Dicker’s 20-yard field goal, capping a 13-play, 69-yard drive that took 7:50 off the clock to start the third quarter. Carlson then cut the Chargers’ lead to 20-13 with a 47-yard field goal with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter.

Herbert set up his 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Will Dissly with a career-long 41-yard scramble to the Raiders’ 4-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter. At that moment, the Chargers’ 27-13 lead seemed to be a commanding advantage, but there was still 13:32 to be played.

Hassan Haskins’ 2-yard touchdown run accounted for the Chargers’ final score.

More to come on this story.

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