Raiders’ report card: Offense, coaching come up short against Chargers

Here’s how the Raiders performed in a 22-10 loss to the Chargers on Sunday:

Offense: D

You aren’t going to win many NFL games with three turnovers. You really aren’t going to win many NFL games with three turnovers on the road. But the Raiders lost two fumbles and threw an interception during a day they struggled to run the ball and find an offensive rhythm.

Gardner Minshew completed 25 of his 33 passes for 257 yards, a touchdown and an interception in his first start with the franchise. He also had one of his team’s two fumbles. Running back Zamir White, who was held to 44 rushing yards on 13 carries, had the other.

The Raiders finished with just 71 yards on the ground and converted only five of their 14 third downs. Their lone touchdown came from running back Alexander Mattison, who took a short pass 31 yards to the end zone. Jakobi Meyers was the team’s leading receiver with 61 yards on three catches.

The Raiders’ offensive line needs to be much better moving forward. It wasn’t consistent at all Sunday.

Defense: B-minus

A strong first half by the Raiders defense was soured a little in the fourth quarter, when the Chargers scored two touchdowns to put the game away.

Los Angeles finished with 176 rushing yards, but quarterback Justin Herbert completed just 17 of his 26 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown.

Linebacker Robert Spillane led the Raiders with 10 tackles. Four other players had five. Edge rusher Maxx Crosby got the team’s lone sack by taking down Herbert on the Chargers’ first drive.

The Raiders didn’t force any turnovers, which often is bad news for a visiting team. But Los Angeles had just 316 total yards and 107 of them came on two runs by running back J.K. Dobbins. Take away those snaps, and the Raiders defense did more than enough to give the team a chance to win.

Special teams: C

AJ Cole averaged 53 yards over five punts but Daniel Carlson made only one of his two field-goal attempts, missing from 49 yards. The snap was a bit high but you have to make that kick. He didn’t.

Coaching: D

You can make an argument — a good one, in fact — that the Raiders’ brass missed on three fourth-down decisions that might have changed the outcome of the game. The offense also wasn’t good enough and many things need to be cleaned up on that side of the ball. It was not a good day for Antonio Pierce in his first game as the Raiders’ full-time coach.

— Ed Graney/Review-Journal