Herbert Leads LA Chargers to an OT Win Against the Las Vegas Raiders, 30-27

Justin Herbert led his LA Chargers to a 30-27 win over the Las Vegas Raiders with an OT touchdown. The rookie QB rushed for a one-yard TD, to end the Chargers’ losing skid against the rivals from the AFC West division and most likely end the Raiders’ playoff hopes.

At first, Herbert wasn’t sure if he scored a TD at all, but after seeing the officials, the 22-year old began celebrating.

“I kind of waited to see the replay, and guys didn’t really know what had happened. So I got up and started shaking hands and kind of saw the game was over,” he said.

Herbert ended the night with 314 yards, setting e new record for a rookie, becoming the first one in history with seven or more 300+ passing yards games. However, the No.6 pick from this year’s draft is on the verge of making another landmark, an even bigger one.

With two touchdown passes last night, Herbert tied with Baker Mayfield, who had 27 TD tosses in his rookie season with the Browns. Chargers’ youngster has two more matches to surpass that mark, and become the new record-holder, which would probably earn him the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

His LA was ahead throughout most of the game, and even had a chance to avoid the overtime, but K Michael Badgley missed two FGs in the last few minutes. On the other side, the Raiders’ Daniel Carlson wanted to try to score an FG from 65 yards as time expired, but the snap was bad, and the Chargers prevented his shot.

Raiders faced one adversity early on, with their starting quarterback Derek Carr having to exit the field due to an apparent groin injury. In those moments, he had 53 passing yards without any touchdowns or picks. His replacement was Marcus Mariota, who was excellent, but made one terrible mistake, that cost his team a potential win.

With 1:54 to go with the teams tied, Mariota threw an interception, ruining the chance for the home team to keep the football and go for a game-winning field goal. Overall, the former Heisman Trophy winner and Tennessee Titans starter, was excellent, with 226 passing yards, one touchdown pass, and one rushing touchdown, having yielded 88 rushing yards on nine scrambles.

“When it comes down to it, I think it’s part of your job to be prepared,” Mariota said. “Just try to give these guys a chance to win, and unfortunately, we came up a little short.”

He and Herbert both went to the University of Oregon, and the younger QB admitted that he always admired Mariota while playing for the Ducks, often following his footsteps.

“It was a pretty crazy experience,” Herbert said. “I grew up watching Marcus. He was my favorite player. To see him on the field and play against him was really cool.”

Mariota connected with Darren Waller perfectly, with the TE finishing the match with 150 yards on nine catches and one touchdown. Josh Jacobs had one TD run, ending the night with 76 rushing yards on 26 snaps.

With the Chargers, Austin Ekeler ran for 60 yards, Jalen Guton had 91 receiving yards, Hunter Henry 65, and Tyron Johnson 61. The latter two had touchdown catches.

The Chargers meet the Denver Broncos at home and finish the season in Kansas City against the champions. The Raiders will host the Miami Dolphins next week and then travel to Denver to play versus the Broncos.