Chargers–Raiders rivalry

The Chargers–Raiders rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders. Since the American Football League (AFL) was established in 1960, the Chargers and the Raiders have shared the same division, first being the AFL Western Conference, and since the AFL–NFL merger, the AFC West.

Chargers–Raiders rivalry
Los Angeles Chargers
Las Vegas Raiders
First meetingNovember 27, 1960
Chargers 52, Raiders 28
Latest meetingDecember 17, 2020
Chargers 30, Raiders 27 (OT)
Next meetingTBA
Statistics
Meetings total122
All-time seriesRaiders, 66–55–2
Postseason resultsRaiders, 1–0
  • January 11, 1981:
    Raiders 34, Chargers 27
Largest victoryChargers: 44–0 (1961);
Raiders: 51–10 (1967)
Longest win streakChargers, 13 (2003–09);
Raiders: 10 (1972–77)
Current win streakChargers, 1 (2020–present)
Championship success
AFL Championships (2) (1960–1969)

Super Bowl Championships (3)

AFL Western Division Championships (8)
(1960–1969)
AFC West Divisional Championships (22)
AFC Wild Card Berths (10) (1970–present)
Super Bowl Appearances (6)

Like the 49ers–Rams rivalry in the NFC West, this rivalry once represented the geographic and cultural differences between Northern California (represented by the Raiders while they were based in Oakland, California) and Southern California (represented by the Chargers), though the Raiders once played in Los Angeles while the Chargers were in San Diego, highlighting the difference between those two southern California cities. Although the rivalry lost its in-state significance when the Raiders relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada before the 2020 season, the teams’ new home stadiums are now 350 miles closer to each other than in years past.

History

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.[1]

In 1978, the Raiders won over the Chargers in San Diego with a controversial fumblerooski play now known as the Holy Roller. The play ultimately led to the Chargers missing the playoffs that year and sparked an NFL rule change.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4][5]

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.[6][7]

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.[8][9] 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.[10][9]

In 2013, the first Raiders-Chargers game was delayed due to heavy rain, 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.[11][12] San Diego won the second game that year, however, keeping its playoff hopes alive with a 26–13 win.[13]

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.[14] 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,[15][16] 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.[17][18]

Following both teams' relocations, 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.[19]

Season-by-season results
Chargers vs. Raiders Season-by-Season Results
1960s (Chargers, 11–9)
1970s (Raiders, 15–3–2)
1980s (Raiders, 14–7)
1990s (Raiders, 11–9)
2000s (Chargers, 14–6)
2010s (Tie, 10–10)
2020s (Tie, 1–1)
Summary of Results

Notes
  1. The Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs finished tied with a 12–2 record, but the Raiders were crowned 1968 division champions. Both teams qualified for the AFL playoffs.

References
  1. Rasmussen, Carl (2018-11-08). "3 Reasons the Chargers-Raiders Rivalry is Bigger Than You Think". 12up.com. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  2. Holy Roller at 40: How a Raiders' fumble-turned-TD changed the NFL, ESPN, Paul Gutierrez and Eric Williams, April 18, 2018.
  3. "Greatest Moments: 1980 AFC Championship". Raiders. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  4. "Raiders Still Beloved In LA, But Chargers Have Playoff Hopes". 2017-12-28. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  5. Nowels, Michael (2019-12-22). "Raider Nation swarms 'road' game vs. Chargers in Los Angeles". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
  6. NFL Thowback (July 8, 2019). The UGLIEST Win EVER! (Chargers vs. Raiders, 1998) — NFL Record For Punts!. YouTube.
  7. "San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders - October 11th, 1998". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  8. ESPN: "Sources: Raiders finally fire Kiffin, consider promoting assistants". Retrieved September 30, 2008.
  9. Prime, Ryan (2016-10-08). "A Brief History: Oakland Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers". Just Blog Baby. FanSided. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  10. Dubow, Josh (2010-10-11). "Raiders rally to beat Chargers 35-27". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  11. "Chargers vs. Raiders - Game Recap - October 6, 2013 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  12. Bien, Louis (2013-10-07). "Pryor, Woodson star in Raiders win over Chargers". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  13. Arthur, Kenneth (2013-12-22). "Chargers win, stay alive for playoffs". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  14. Rapoport, Ian (February 20, 2015). "Chargers, Raiders team up for stadium proposal in Los Angeles". NFL.com. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  15. "Chargers to Relocate to Los Angeles". Chargers.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. January 12, 2017. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  16. Knoblauch, Austin (January 12, 2017). "Chargers announce decision to relocate to Los Angeles". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  17. Rosenthal, Gregg (March 27, 2017). "NFL team owners approve Raiders' move to Las Vegas". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  18. Raiders Media Relations (March 27, 2017). "Raiders Receive NFL Approval For Las Vegas Relocation". Raiders.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  19. Schwab, Frank (2020-11-08). "Replay review goes against snakebit Chargers on apparent final-play TD, Raiders escape with a win". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
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