Herbert’s Big Day Leads Chargers in Regular Season Finale over Raiders
Paced by a dynamic passing attack from Justin Herbert and a career-receiving day from Quentin Johnston, Chargers race past the Las Vegas Raiders on the road to clinch the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs.
By Austin Gage
Although the Los Angeles Chargers came into Sunday afternoon’s matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders knowing that their playoff chances were secure, the Bolts fired on all cylinders to defeat their divisional rivals 34-20.
Apart from a slow first quarter, Los Angeles carried on the offensive momentum that was displayed last week against the New England Patriots to ensure a third straight game with over 30 points scored.
The first quarter consisted of minimal offense from both sides and saw a contribution to the scoreboard with two late field goals as the game entered the second quarter knotted at 3. After three straight punts to begin the game, two from the Raiders and one from the Chargers, Los Angeles constructed a drive into Las Vegas’ territory. Connecting with wide receiver Quentin Johnston deep down the right sideline for 37 yards, quarterback Justin Herbert kickstarted an offensive performance to be very excited about. Despite the big play and further yards gained on the drive, kicker Cameron Dicker later could not convert a 51-yard attempt that would have given the Chargers an early lead.
Successfully making a field goal of their own on the ensuing drive, the Raiders put up the first points of the contest.
Another solid drive, one that would eventually stall out at the Las Vegas 15-yard line after a chunk play from Herbert to rookie standout wide receiver Ladd McConkey for 47 yards up the seam near the middle of the field, saw redemption for Dicker as he put the football through the uprights on a much shorter 33-yarder. McConkey capped off his excellent debut regular season with five catches for 95 yards in the finale.
The 4-12 Raiders would not flinch, at least early on, and they drove down the field for six on their next possession. They would take a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter thanks to a 25-yard touchdown catch by veteran wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.
An issue early on through the first quarter and a half for the Chargers was their inability to find the endzone and cap successful drives with a touchdown. Two long offensive drives consisting of 15 plays and nine plays saw Los Angeles add just two more field goals to their total, and it saw Las Vegas maintain a lead at 10-9.
While the offense struggled to finish drives, a bright spot emerged along with Herbert and McConkey in Johnston. The former first-rounder, who struggled last season with drops and consistency as a rookie, took over on Sunday. Using gains down the field mixed with shorter catches and runs, Johnston produced his best performance of his young NFL career. When all was said and done, the TCU product finished the game with an eye-popping 13 catches for 186 yards.
When asked to recall ever having a game like this, Johnston said he could not.
“Hopefully in the future, I can remember my first game like this. I want to keep working to have many more of these; I’m very blessed,” he went on to say.
After an alert play by linebacker Daiyan Henley to intercept Raiders’ quarterback Aidan O’Connell, the Chargers offense used four plays to punch in their first touchdown of the afternoon. A big gain to Johnston through the air for 19 yards set up an easy toss from Herbert to wide receiver DJ Chark Jr for a six-yard touchdown. A successful two-point conversion by McConkey saw Los Angeles enter halftime with a 17-10 lead, one that they would not look back from.
Coming out of the lockers, the teams traded field goals before the hot Chargers’ offense found the endzone once again. Set up by a crafty scramble for 41 yards up the middle himself, Herbert fired to the wide-open tight end Will Dissly for a short two-yard touchdown for his second passing touchdown on the day. The star quarterback threw for 346 yards passing on 28 of 36 attempts and added four carries for 42 yards on the ground. Sunday’s performance saw Herbert finish with the second-fewest interceptions (3) by a quarterback with at least 450 attempts in NFL history.
“I’m not going to say unbelievable because I believe it and see it every day, but there throws that he was making that were 15-yard throws, 30-yard throws, 45-yard throws that were like handoffs and right where you would put it if you were handing the ball off on a running play,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said about his quarterback’s performance. “Just an incredible game by him.”
Riding a 27-13 lead early in the fourth quarter, Los Angeles put the finishing touches on Las Vegas with a two-yard score by running back Hassan Haskins late in the fourth. Star Raiders’ rookie tight end Brock Bowers would find the endzone for a score with 25 seconds remaining, but the game was well out of reach.
Los Angeles capped their 2024 regular season with a 34-20 win and entered the playoffs on a small three-game winning streak.
The Chargers reached the 11-win mark for the first time since 2018 and saw themselves settle in as the AFC’s fifth seed, meaning they will travel to Houston to take on the AFC South champion Texans on the Saturday of Wild Card Weekend.
“They got great playmakers, great competitors. It’s going to take our A-game so we’ll turn all our focus and preparation toward the Texans. I know we’re going to have to play good,” said Harbaugh.
