Chargers–Raiders rivalry

 

The Chargers and Raiders were both charter members of the American Football League when the league began playing in 1960. The Chargers moved to San Diego after their first year in Los Angeles, appearing in four of the first five AFL Championship games and winning one. Al Davis, who would later become the famous Raiders owner, started off as an assistant coach for the Chargers until becoming Oakland's head coach in 1963. Under Davis, the Raiders held a competitive edge over the Chargers from the late 1960s to the 1990s, appearing in four Super Bowls and winning three of them.^[2]

In 1978, the Raiders won over the Chargers in San Diego with a controversial fumblerooski play now known as the Holy Roller. The loss contributed to the Chargers missing the playoffs that year and sparked an NFL rule change.^[3] Two years later, both teams returned to the playoffs and faced off in the 1980 AFC championship game. An offensive shootout between Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett and Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts saw the Raiders prevail 34–27 en route to winning Super Bowl XV over the Philadelphia Eagles.^[4] This is the only playoff meeting between the teams.

The Raiders temporarily left Oakland for Los Angeles in 1982, playing there until the conclusion of the 1994 season. Despite only being there for 13 years, the Raiders developed a strong following in Los Angeles during their tenure in the city, which to this day has impeded the Chargers' ability to develop their own following in Los Angeles since returning to that city.^[5][6]

One of the ugliest games in the rivalry's history occurred in 1998. Chargers rookie quarterback Ryan Leaf completed just 7 of 18 pass attempts for 78 yards and 3 interceptions. The Raiders did not fare much better on offense, but Raiders backup quarterback Wade Wilson passed for a 68-yard touchdown, his only completion of the day. In the end, both teams had benched their starting quarterbacks as the Raiders narrowly won 7–6. The game set an NFL record for the most punts in a game.^[7][8]

Though the Raiders had largely dominated the series for much of the later 20th Century, the Chargers amassed a 13-game winning streak from 2003 to 2009, shortly after the Raiders' appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII and subsequent collapse. One of these losses saw Oakland squander a 15-point halftime lead to lose 28–18, leading up to the firing of head coach Lane Kiffin following that game.^[9][10] The Raiders would finally end the losing streak in 2010, defeating the Chargers 35–27 with two blocked punts, two second-half scoring drives led by quarterback Jason Campbell and a Philip Rivers fumble returned by Tyvon Branch for the Raiders' game-clinching touchdown.^[11][10]

In 2013, the first Raiders-Chargers game was delayed due to an Athletics postseason game the previous evening, kicking off at 8:35 PM Pacific Time, the latest kickoff time in NFL history. The Raiders won 27–17 with a strong performance by quarterback Terrelle Pryor, a fumble return touchdown by Charles Woodson, and five San Diego turnovers.^[12][13] San Diego won the second game that year, however, keeping its playoff hopes alive with a 26–13 win.^[14]

Following the 2015 season, the Raiders and Chargers both proposed to move back to Los Angeles despite their storied rivalry, announcing a shared stadium proposal in Carson, California.^[15] However, the proposal was rejected by NFL owners in favor of the St. Louis Rams' proposal to move back to Los Angeles, with the Chargers first being offered a one-year window to accept the chance to share the Rams' stadium and the Raiders to receive the offer should the Chargers decline. On January 12, 2017, Chargers owner Dean Spanos announced his intention to join the Rams in Los Angeles and leave San Diego to play at SoFi Stadium,^[16][17] ultimately leading to Raiders owner Mark Davis accepting a deal to move his team to Las Vegas to play at Allegiant Stadium with the NCAA's UNLV Rebels football program.^[18][19]

Following both teams' relocations by the 2020 season, the Chargers' first home game in the series at the newly built SoFi Stadium featured a notable final play. Down 31–26, Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert threw a pass to Donald Parham that was initially ruled a touchdown but was later overturned after review as Raiders cornerback Isaiah Johnson was seen barely jarring the ball loose from Parham's hands as he fell out of bounds. The call resulted in the Raiders holding on to win.^[20] Both teams narrowly missed the playoffs that year.

After a 63–21 Raiders win in the series on Thursday Night Football in 2023,^[21] Staley and general manager Tom Telesco were fired by the Chargers on December 15, 2023.^[22] The Chargers-Raiders game set a Chargers franchise record for most points allowed in a single game, along with a Raiders franchise record for most points scored in a single game.^[23] The following offseason, Raiders owner Mark Davis hired Telesco to be the team's new general manager.

The game between the two teams during the final week of the 2021 season would decide the final AFC wild card spots that year. Las Vegas took a commanding 29–14 lead in the fourth quarter, but Herbert led the Chargers back to tie the game at 29 apiece after Herbert successfully converted 4 fourth downs by the end of regulation, forcing overtime. After both teams scored field goals in the extra period, the Raiders were set to run out the clock and accept a tie, but after a Chargers timeout, Las Vegas managed to drive back to field goal range and win the game with a successful kick during the final seconds of overtime, clinching the #5 seed while eliminating the Chargers and allowing the Pittsburgh Steelers to clinch the #7 seed.^[24] Had the teams tied, they would have both made the postseason over Pittsburgh via their head-to-head wins over the Steelers earlier in the season.

After the game, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was asked by NBC sideline reporter Michele Tafoya if the timeout changed their mindset on the final drive, he replied "It definitely did, obviously."^[24] In a post game press conference, Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, when asked if the Raiders were playing to tie, said "We were talking about it. . . . We ran the ball there, and they didn’t call a timeout. So I think they were probably thinking the same thing. And then we had the big run. When we got the big run, it got us in advantageous field goal position. . . . We were certainly talking about it on the sideline. We wanted to see if they were gonna take a timeout or not on that run. They didn’t, so we thought they were thinking the same thing. And then we popped the run in there and gave us a chance to kick the field goal to win it. So, we were certainly talking about it.”^[25][26] Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, when asked about the timeout by the Los Angeles Times said "We felt like they were going to run the ball. So we wanted to ... make that substitution so that we could get a play where we would deepen the field goal."^[27] In Justin Herbert's post game press conference he said "I had never been rooting for a tie more in my life. That's the unfortunate part of being so close."^[28]

Statistics limited to Chargers–Raiders regular season games. Correct through the 2023 season.

• List of NFL rivalries
• AFC West

• Los Angeles Chargers' official website
• U-T San Diego – Chargers/NFL
• Pro Football Hall of Fame – Los Angeles Chargers team history
• Los Angeles Chargers at Sports E-Cyclopedia.org
• Las Vegas Raiders' official website
• San Jose Mercury News – Raiders' coverage
• Las Vegas Raiders at Sports E-Cyclopedia.org
• Pro Football Hall of Fame – Las Vegas Raiders' team history