(Inglewood) Justin Herbert was in the limelight with three new teammates, threw three touchdown passes for another time in his young career and helped the Los Angeles Chargers defeat the Las Vegas Raiders 24-19 , sunday.
Updated yesterday at 11:09 p.m.
The third-year quarterback threw for 279 yards and a 13e three touchdown pass game.
In his Chargers debut, Khalil Mack had three sacks and he helped ruin Josh McDaniels’ debut as Raiders head coach. Bryce Callahan, another newcomer, intercepted a pass from Derek Carr in the fourth quarter.
“I think the defense played very well throughout the game. She made big plays when we needed them most,” said Herbert, who completed 26 of 34 passes and posted a 129.4 efficiency rating.
He achieved that performance despite losing star receiver Keenan Allen to a hamstring injury in the first half. Also, Mike Williams didn’t catch a ball until the fourth quarter.
“I think a good thing we do is we’re able to switch guys around and play in multiple positions. We had receivers who stood out,” added Herbert.
It was a replay of the last game of last season, in which the Raiders made a field goal in the final seconds of overtime to eliminate the Chargers.
Josh McDaniels became the fourth Raiders coach to lose in his first game with the team.
Carr had 22 of 37 passes grabbed for 295 yards. The Raiders quarterback threw two touchdown passes, but also had three interceptions.
It was the second time in a nine-year career that Carr had three interceptions in one game. The first time came in the 2018 season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
It’s obviously hard to win, and when you make that many turnovers, you give them chances. They took advantage of some of those, especially in the second quarter. I like the way our team fought. I respect the fact that we made it a game. We can do much better than what we have done.
Josh McDaniels
Carr joined Davante Adams, his former Fresno State University teammate, 10 times for 141 yards and a touchdown. Adams was acquired from the Green Bay Packers during the offseason.
Herbert’s three touchdown passes also landed in the hands of an offseason acquisition. Seventh-round pick Zander Horvath and DeAndre Carter picked up a game-winning pass in the second quarter to give the Chargers a 17-3 halftime lead.
Gerald Everett added an 18-yard reception for a major in the third quarter, when he carried Raiders safety Roderic Teamer three yards to give the Chargers a 24-10 lead.
Both Carter and Everett had three catches. Carter had 64 yards while Everett had 54.
The Chargers have won their last four openers.