LAS VEGAS -- — Justin Herbert’s brilliant rookie season is now a record-setting campaign.
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Herbert scored on 1-yard plunge to offer the l. a. Chargers a 30-27 overtime victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night.
“It was pretty crazy,” said Herbert, who set an NFL rookie record together with his seventh 300-yard game and has 27 passing scores on the year, tying Baker Mayfield (2018) for the foremost by a rookie in NFL history. “I quite waited to ascertain the replay and guys didn’t really know what had happened. So I got up and began shaking hands and type of saw the sport was over.
The Chargers (5-9) snapped a nine-game streak against their AFC West counterparts, and snapped a three-game skid against the Raiders. Las Vegas (7-7) lost quarterback Derek Carr to a left groin injury within the half-moon . it's lost four of 5 , about killing its playoff chances.
Moments after Daniel Carlson’s 23-yard field goal on the Raiders’ first possession put Las Vegas ahead 27-24, Herbert found wideout Jalen Guyton streaking by cornerback Keisean Nixon for a 53-yard reception to line up the winning score.
Los Angeles improved to 1-2 in overtime games, while all four of its games against division foes have come right down to the ultimate play.
Herbert, who targeted nine receivers and completed a minimum of one pass with seven, was 22 for 32 with 314 yards and two touchdowns.
“I’ve seen tons of growth over the past couple weeks,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. “He’s doing it with young receivers on the sector and spreading the ball around.”
With five receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown, Los Angeles’ Hunter Henry now features a career-high 60 receptions on the year, third-highest among tight ends this season.
The Chargers got revenge from the primary meeting on Nov. 8, when Herbert’s apparent TD pass to Donald Parham was overturned by replay to finish the sport .
For the Raiders, the storyline quickly changed from must-win to remain alive within the playoff hunt, to the way to win with backup Marcus Mariota seeing his first action as a Raider, while fixing a showdown of former University of Oregon quarterbacks.
“It was a reasonably crazy experience,” Herbert said. “I grew up watching Marcus. He was my favorite player. to ascertain him on the sector and play against him was really cool. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”
Just four days after firing defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, plus missing four starters on defense, and having their offensive coordinator Greg Olson sidelined after testing positive for COVID-19, the Raiders lost Carr when he came up lame on a third-down scramble near the line within the half-moon . Carr immediately visited the room and didn't return.
Mariota was poised in his return from the primary snap.
In his first drive, he was 3 for 3 for 70 yards and a wonderfully placed over-the-top pass to Darren Waller. Mariota also scrambled for 11 yards for a primary down.
“When it comes right down to it, i feel it’s a part of your job to be prepared,” Mariota said. "Just attempt to give these guys an opportunity to win and unfortunately we came up a touch short.”
The sixth-year pro finished 17 of 28 for 226 yards with one TD and one interception. He also rushed for 88 yards on nine carries, including a touchdown.
“It just shows the type of player and football character he has,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said of Mariota. “You lose Derek, and that we change gears offensively. Marcus came in and did an excellent job. I’m really pleased with him. That just puts an exclamation mark on why we signed him. Just wish we could have won the sport for him
Los Angeles placekicker Michael Badgley missed two field goals near the top of the sport — one from 47 yards and one from 51 — while the Raiders blew their chance when Mariota made his first bad decision of the sport with an ill-advised pass that went off the hands of Zay Jones and into the hands Chris Harris Jr., who returned it 51 yards to offer Badgley his second opportunity
Las Vegas lined up for a 65-yard, game-winning field goal at the top of regulation, but a nasty snap was bobbled by AJ Cole, preventing Carlson from making an effort