| Chargers–Raiders rivalry | |
| Team1: | Los Angeles Chargers |
| Team2: | Las Vegas Raiders |
| Team1logo: | Los Angeles Chargers 2020 wordmark.svg |
| Team2logo: | Las Vegas Raiders wordmark.svg |
| First Contested: | November 27, 1960 Chargers 52, Raiders 28 |
| Mostrecent: | December 14, 2023 Raiders 63, Chargers 21 |
| Nextmeeting: | September 8, 2024 |
| Total: | 129 |
| Largestvictory: | Chargers: 44–0 (1961); Raiders: 63–21 (2023) |
| Currentstreak: | Raiders, 1 (2023–present) |
| Longeststreak: | Chargers, 13 (2003–2009); Raiders: 10 (1972–1977) |
| Series: | Raiders, 69–58–2 |
| Postseason: | Raiders, 1–0 |
| Section Header: | Championship success |
| Section Info: | AFL Championships (2)
|
The Chargers–Raiders rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders that has transcended two leagues and a combined five relocations. Since debuting in the inaugural AFL season, in 1960, as the Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers in the AFL Western Conference, both teams joined the AFC West in 1970 under the AFL–NFL merger.
Like the 49ers–Rams rivalry in the NFC West, this rivalry represented the geographic and cultural differences between Northern and Southern California, with the Raiders representing Oakland from 1960–81, and again from 1995–2019, and the Chargers represented San Diego from 1961–2016, and Los Angeles in 1960, and since 2017. The Raiders' 13 seasons in Los Angeles, from 1982 to 1994, saw the teams only 130 miles apart. The in-state rivalry was lost with the Raiders' move to Nevada though Las Vegas is closer to Los Angeles by 350 miles than Oakland to San Diego.
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 loss contributed 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]
In 2013, the first Raiders-Chargers game was delayed due to an Athletics postseason game the previous evening, 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 by the 2020 season, 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] Both teams narrowly missed the playoffs that year.
After a 63–21 Raiders win in the series on Thursday Night Football in 2023,[20] Staley and general manager Tom Telesco were fired by the Chargers on December 15, 2023.[21] The Chargers-Raiders game set a Chargers franchise record for most points allowed in a single game, along with a Raiders franchise record for most points scored in a single game.[22] The following offseason, Raiders owner Mark Davis hired Telesco to be the team's new general manager.
The game between the two teams during the final week of the 2021 season would decide the final AFC wild card spots that year. Las Vegas took a commanding 29–14 lead in the fourth quarter, but Herbert led the Chargers back to tie the game at 29 apiece after Herbert successfully converted 4 fourth downs by the end of regulation, forcing overtime. After both teams scored field goals in the extra period, the Raiders were set to run out the clock and accept a tie, but after a Chargers timeout, Las Vegas managed to drive back to field goal range and win the game with a successful kick during the final seconds of overtime, clinching the #5 seed while eliminating the Chargers and allowing the Pittsburgh Steelers to clinch the #7 seed.[23] Had the teams tied, they would have both made the postseason over Pittsburgh via their head-to-head wins over the Steelers earlier in the season.
After the game, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was asked by NBC sideline reporter Michele Tafoya if the timeout changed their mindset on the final drive, he replied "It definitely did, obviously."[23] In a post game press conference, Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, when asked if the Raiders were playing to tie, said "We were talking about it. . . . We ran the ball there, and they didn’t call a timeout. So I think they were probably thinking the same thing. And then we had the big run. When we got the big run, it got us in advantageous field goal position. . . . We were certainly talking about it on the sideline. We wanted to see if they were gonna take a timeout or not on that run. They didn’t, so we thought they were thinking the same thing. And then we popped the run in there and gave us a chance to kick the field goal to win it. So, we were certainly talking about it.”[24] [25] Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, when asked about the timeout by the Los Angeles Times said "We felt like they were going to run the ball. So we wanted to ... make that substitution so that we could get a play where we would deepen the field goal."[26] In Justin Herbert's post game press conference he said "I had never been rooting for a tie more in my life. That's the unfortunate part of being so close."[27]
|-| 1960| style="| | style="| Chargers
52–28| style="| Chargers
41–17| Chargers
2–0| Inaugural season for both franchises and the AFL. Chargers lose 1960 AFL Championship.|-| 1961| style="| | style="| Chargers
44–0| style="| Chargers
41–10| Chargers
4–0| Chargers move to San Diego after playing first season in Los Angeles. Chargers lose 1961 AFL Championship.|-| 1962| style="| | style="| Chargers
31–21| style="| Chargers
42–33| Chargers
6–0| |-| 1963| style="| | style="| Raiders
34–33| style="| Raiders
41–27| Chargers
6–2| Chargers win 1963 AFL Championship.|-| 1964| Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
31–17| style="| Raiders
21–20| Chargers
7–3| Chargers lose 1964 AFL Championship.|-| 1965| style="| | style="| Chargers
24–14| style="| Chargers
17–6| Chargers
9–3| Chargers lose 1965 AFL Championship.|-| 1966| Tie 1–1| style="| Raiders
41–19| style="| Chargers
29–20| Chargers
10–4||-| 1967| style="| | style="| Raiders
41–21| style="| Raiders
51–10| Chargers
10–6| Chargers open San Diego Stadium. Raiders win 1967 AFL Championship, lose Super Bowl II.|-| 1968| Tie 1–1| style="| Raiders
34–27| style="| Chargers
23–14| Chargers
11–7| Raiders lose 1968 AFL Championship.|-| 1969| style="| | style="| Raiders
24–12| style="| Raiders
21–16| Chargers
11–9| Raiders lose 1969 AFL Championship.|-|-| | style="| | Tie
27–27| style="| Raiders
20–17| Chargers
11–10–1| AFL-NFL merger. Both teams placed in the AFC West.|-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
34–0| style="| Raiders
34–33| Raiders
12–11–1||-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
21–19| Tie
17–17| Raiders
13–11–2||-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
27–17| style="| Raiders
31–3| Raiders
15–11–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
14–10| style="| Raiders
17–10| Raiders
17–11–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
6–0| style="| Raiders
25–0| Raiders
19–11–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
27–17| style="| Raiders
24–0| Raiders
21–11–2| Raiders win Super Bowl XI.|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
12–7| style="| Raiders
24–0| Raiders
22–12–2| Raiders win 10 straight meetings and go 16–0–2 in 18-game stretch from 1968–77.|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Raiders
21–20| style="| Chargers
27–23| Raiders
23–13–2| Raiders win game in San Diego on controversial Holy Roller play.|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
30–10| style="| Raiders
45–22| Raiders
24–14–2| |-|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
30–24(OT)| style="| Raiders
38–24| Raiders
25–15–2| Raiders win Super Bowl XV.|- style="background:#f2f2f2; font-weight:bold;"| 1980 Playoffs| style="| | style="| Raiders
34–27| | Raiders
26–15–2| AFC Championship Game. Only playoff meeting between the two teams.|-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
23–10| style="| Chargers
55–21| Raiders
26–17–2| Kellen Winslow has five touchdown receptions in game in Oakland, tied for an NFL record. Chargers' first season sweep over the Raiders since 1965.|-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
27–17| style="| Raiders
28–24| Raiders
28–17–2| Raiders move from Oakland to Los Angeles. Both games played despite a players strike reducing the season to nine games.|-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
42–10| style="| Raiders
30–14| Raiders
30–17–2| Raiders win Super Bowl XVIII.|-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
44–37| style="| Raiders
33–30| Raiders
32–17–2| Raiders win seven straight meetings.|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
40–34(OT)| style="| Raiders
34–21| Raiders
33–18–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
37–31(OT)| style="| Raiders
17–13| Raiders
35–18–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
16–14| style="| Chargers
23–17| Raiders
35–20–2||-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
13–3| style="| Raiders
24–13| Raiders
37–20–2| |-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
14–12| style="| Raiders
40–14| Raiders
38–21–2| |-|-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
24–9| style="| Raiders
17–12| Raiders
40–21–2||-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Raiders
9–7| style="| Chargers
21–13| Raiders
41–22–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
27–3| style="| Chargers
36–14| Raiders
41–24–2| |-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Raiders
12–7| style="| Chargers
30–23| Raiders
42–25–2| |-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Raiders
24–17| style="| Chargers
26–24| Raiders
43–26–2| Chargers lose Super Bowl XXIX.|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
17–7| style="| Raiders
12–6| Raiders
44–27–2| Raiders move from Los Angeles back to Oakland.|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Raiders
23–14| style="| Chargers
40–34| Raiders
45–28–2| |-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Raiders
38–13| style="| Chargers
25–10| Raiders
46–29–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
17–10| style="| Raiders
7–6| Raiders
48–29–2| |-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
23–20| style="| Raiders
28–9| Raiders
49–30–2| |-|-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
15–13| style="| Raiders
9–6| Raiders
51–30–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
13–6| style="| Raiders
34–24| Raiders
53–30–2| |-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Raiders
27–7| style="| Chargers
27–21(OT)| Raiders
54–31–2| Raiders lose Super Bowl XXXVII.|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
21–14| style="| Raiders
34–31(OT)| Raiders
55–32–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
42–14| style="| Chargers
23–17| Raiders
55–34–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
34–10| style="| Chargers
27–14| Raiders
55–36–2||-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
21–14| style="| Chargers
27–0| Raiders
55–38–2||-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
28–14| style="| Chargers
30–17| Raiders
55–40–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
34–7| style="| Chargers
28–18| Raiders
55–42–2| Raiders wore white jerseys at home for the first time in the team's history against the Chargers on September 28, 2008, in Oakland.|-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
24–16| style="| Chargers
24–20| Raiders
55–44–2| Chargers win 13 straight meetings from 2003 to 2009.|-|-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
28–13| style="| Raiders
35–27| Raiders
57–44–2| Raiders sweep division but miss the playoffs, an NFL first.|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Raiders
24–17| style="| Chargers
38–26| Raiders
58–45–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
24–21| style="| Chargers
22–14| Raiders
58–47–2| |-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
26–13| style="| Raiders
27–17| Raiders
59–48–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
13–6| style="| Chargers
31–28| Raiders
59–50–2||-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
37–29| style="| Raiders
23–20(OT)| Raiders
61–50–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
19–16| style="| Raiders
34–31| Raiders
63–50–2||-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
30–10| style="| Chargers
17–16| Raiders
63–52–2| Chargers relocate from San Diego to Los Angeles.|-| | style="| | style="| Chargers
26–10| style="| Chargers
20–6| Raiders
63–54–2| |-| | style="| | style="| Raiders
24–17| style="| Raiders
26–24| Raiders
65–54–2| Final year in the rivalry where the Raiders are a California-based franchise.|-|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Raiders
31–26| style="| Chargers
30–27(OT)| Raiders
66–55–2| Chargers open SoFi Stadium. Raiders relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas. Both games decided on final play.|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
28–14| style="| Raiders
35–32 (OT)| Raiders
67–56–2| Raiders clinch playoff berth, eliminate Chargers by beating them in week 18 "win and in" game.|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
24–19| style="| Raiders
27–20| Raiders
68–57–2| |-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Chargers
24–17| style="| Raiders
63–21| Raiders
69–58–2| Raiders and Chargers set franchise scoring records in game played on 12/14/23 in Las Vegas: most points scored and most points allowed (63), respectively; one day later, Chargers head coach Brandon Staley was fired.|- |-| AFL regular season| style="|Chargers 11–9| Tie 5–5| Chargers 6–4||-| NFL regular season| style="|Raiders 59–47–2| Raiders 28–25–1| Raiders 31–22–1| |-| AFL and NFL regular season| style="|Raiders 68–58–2| Raiders 33–30–1 | Raiders 35–28–1| |-| NFL postseason| style="|Raiders 1–0| Raiders 1–0| no games| 1980 AFC Championship Game|-| Regular and postseason | style="|Raiders 69–58–2| Raiders 34–30–1 | Raiders 35–28–1| |-
Statistics limited to Chargers-Raiders regular games. Correct through 2021 season.
| Chargers | Raiders | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | Philip Rivers – 7,103 | Derek Carr – 4,056 | [28] [29] | |
| Rushing yards | LaDainian Tomlinson – 2,017 | Marcus Allen – 1,235 | [30] [31] | |
| Receiving yards | Antonio Gates – 1,424 | Tim Brown – 1,697 | [32] [33] | |
| Touchdowns | LaDainian Tomlinson – 25 | Marcus Allen – 20 | [34] [35] | |
| Sacks | Shaun Phillips – 14 | Greg Townsend – | [36] [37] | |
| Interceptions | Speedy Duncan – 7 | Dave Grayson – 8 | [38] [39] |
Web site: Raiders finally fire Kiffin, promote O-line coach Cable . September 30, 2008.