THE LAS VEGAS Raiders ran in nine touchdowns in a 63-21 thrashing of the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday, coming within a whisker of breaking the NFL’s all-time scoring record.
The Raiders, who failed to score a single point in a dismal 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, ran riot in a one-sided clash at their Allegiant Stadium.
The Raiders rattled off six unanswered touchdowns to lead 42-0 after a disastrous first half for the Chargers.
Vegas kept the hammer down after the restart, running in three more touchdowns against a Chargers side struggling to readjust after confirmation of a season-ending injury to quarterback Justin Herbert earlier this week.
The Raiders led 63-7 early in the fourth quarter after cornerback Jack Jones intercepted Herbert’s back-up Easton Stick to stroll into the end zone for a 16-yard pick six.
The only question remaining at that stage was whether the Raiders would go on to break the NFL’s all-time regular-season record for points in a single game of 72, set by Washington in a victory over the New York Giants in 1966.
The Raiders eased up however over the closing minutes of the game and failed to add to their total as the Chargers scored two consolation touchdowns from Alex Erickson and Quentin Johnston.
Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell threw for four touchdowns with 248 passing yards from 20-of-34 attempts to spark the rout.
O’Connell said the short turnaround after Sunday’s toothless shutout against Minnesota had worked in the Raiders’ favor.
“I think it might have been good for us to have a short week,” O’Connell said. “We couldn’t really sulk about what happened on Sunday, we just had to come out here and play and trust ourselves and put an entire team performance together.
“It was awesome.”
While rookie O’Connell was left basking in the glow of a lopsided victory, the defeat could seal the fate of the Chargers’ underpressure head coach Brandon Staley.
Staley was asked after the drubbing whether he felt he should still lead the team.
“Yes,” he replied. “I know what I’ve done here for three years. Games like this happen to every coach in the league, it’s part of sports.”
But pressed on whether he expected to still be in a job on Friday, he admitted: “I don’t know that.”
Both the Raiders and Chargers have little chance of reaching the postseason from the AFC West. The Raiders win improved their record to 6-8 while the Chargers fell to 5-9 to remain bottom of the division, which is led by Kansas City.
