Montgomery Three TDs and 171 On Ground
San Diego, April 18th, 2021: David Montgomery had his best game of the year by rushing for 171 yards on 18 carries and scoring three touchdowns to help the Chargers beat the Oakland Raiders, 41-20. The victory got the Chargers to double-digit wins for the first time under Hank Sienzant and keeps them in the playoff hunt.
This was the third time in the last five weeks that Matt Schaub came on in relief of Daniel Jones, but this time it was because Jones suffered a blow to the head and had to miss time early in the third quarter.
The Chargers' 41-20 victory guarantees San Diego a meaningful final game, as they are 10-5 with one game to go. Right now, they are the sixth seed with the Bears and Arizona yet to play in week 15. Both those teams are 9-5. Depending on the outcome of the other two team's games, the Chargers can be anywhere from the sixth seed in the NFC or the eighth. The Raiders dropped to 2-13 on the season.
The Chargers jumped on top 7-0 after stuffing the Raiders Mitchell Trubisky on a fourth and inches from the Raiders' 35-yard line. It took the Chargers only four plays to score on Montgomery's nine-yard rush after two completions from Jones to Steven Sims for two gains of 13 yards each. Once they took the lead, they never surrendered it, although the Raiders got within four at 24-20 early in the second half.
After an exchange of punts, the Raiders picked up one first down, but back-up running back D'Ernest Johnson fumbled when hit by Stephen Weatherly, and rookie linebacker Bobby Okereke recovered at the Charger 47. Six consecutive runs picked up one first down and moved the ball to the Raiders 26 where the Chargers faced a third and one. A Jones pass intended for Michael Crabtree was incomplete and the Chargers settled for the 44-yard field goal from Stephen Hauschka to make it 10-0 in the Chargers' favor.
After a nine-play, 69-yard drive by the Raiders sparked by a 45-yard reception by Marquis Brown from Mitchell Trubisky, the Chargers defense came up with a stop once the Raiders reached the Charger six-yard line. The red-zone stop forced the Raiders to settle for a Zuerlein 24-yard field goal to cut the Chargers' lead to 10-3.
Zuerlein followed up his field goal with a kickoff out of bounds, setting the Chargers up at their own 40. It took only three plays for the Chargers to up their lead to 17-0. After an incomplete, Montgomery took a sweep around the right side for 18, and the Chargers followed that up on the very next play with a 42-yard connection for the touchdown from Jones.
Both teams scored again on their next possession. The Raiders drove 75 yards in nine plays to score on a short pass from Turbisky to Mike Gesicki. The march took nearly six minutes off the clock and cut the Chargers' lead to 17-10. The Chargers took only four plays to matriculate the ball 63 yards for another touchdown, after an excellent 40-yard kickoff return by Steven Sims. Courtland Sutton drew a 38-yard pass interference call to spark the march, and David Montgomery took the ball on a sweep around right end for 21 yards and the touchdown to make it 24-10 in favor of the Chargers with 3:51 left in the first half.
The Raiders drove 50 yards in ten plays before the end of the first half but had to settle for Zuerlein's second field goal of the first half with five seconds left in the half.
Forcing a punt (and knocking Jones out of the game for the moment) to start the second half, the Raiders scored on a 56-yard bomb from Trubisky to David Moore to end the seven-play, 79-yard drive to cut the Chargers lead to 24-20.
But with Matt Schaub still in the game in lieu of Jones, the Chargers scored on their next possession to up their lead to 11 at 31-20. But the drive was not without angst for the Chargers. Matt Schaub was sacked on second and five for an eight-yard loss, but Schaub completed a pass to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside down the middle for 24 big yards from their own ten to the 34 on third and 13. A 22-yard connection to Foster Moreau moved the ball to the Raiders 44, and on third and five, the Chargers' Ricky Seals-Jones caught a long pass from Schaub for the touchdown to expand their lead to 31-20
The Chargers made it 38-20 soon enough, driving 81 yards in six plays, with David Mongomery opening the drive with a 20-yard run, then, after completions from Schaub to Keelan Cole of 15 and 20 yards, David Montgomery finished off the drive with three consecutive runs of seven, six, and 15 yards for the touchdown.
With Daniel Jones back in the contest, the Chargers added a Hauschka 34-yard field goal to close out the scoring to make it 41-20. The final scoring drive by the Chargers took six and a half minutes off the clock on ten plays and picked up 69 yards. David Montgomery had a 34-yard run on the march to spark the possession.
The Raiders got one last drive going, and reached the Charger ten, but a bad exchange between center Mike Pouncey and Mitchell Trubisky resulted in a fumble recovered by Andrew Billings to thwart that drive, and the Chargers ran out the final 1:39 to book the victory.
GAME NOTES: With Josh Jacobs inactive, David Montgomery was the workhorse, getting touchdowns from nine, 21, and 15 yards out. He averaged 9.5 per carry and caught four more passes for another 11 yards (2.8 per reception).
Daniel Jones completed eight of 12 for 86 yards and one score, adding another 26 yards on four rushes. He finished with a 115.3 passer rating. Matt Schaub, in relief of Jones, completed six of seven for 125 yards and one score, a nifty - and perfect - passer rating of 158.3.
Montgomery caught the most passes (four) but it was Ricky Seals-Jones and Courtland Sutton who scored on receptions, with each catching only one pass in the contest. Rookie wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside finally made a contribution - and what a contribution it was. Midway through the third quarter, with the Raiders having rallied back to close to within 24-20, and the Chargers reeling and backed up to their own ten facing a third and thirteen, he caught his first pass of his career for 24 yards to get the Chargers out of a big hole and convert the third down. With that as a spark, the Chargers finished the drive with a touchdown to move to 31-20 and never looked back.
For the Raiders, Tony Pollard was the leading rusher with nine for 64 (7.1), adding two receptions for 22 yards. Austin Hooper caught five for 36 yards to lead the Raiders in receptions, while Marquise Brown led in receiving yards with 65. Mitchell Trubisky completed 18 of 29 for 248 yards and two scores, rushing six times for 20 yards. Trubisky's passing rating was 112.4.
Steven Sims had a noteworthy game, catching three for 31 yards and adding 124 yards on four kickoff returns.
Taco Charlton for the Raiders and Bobby Okereke for the Chargers each had seven tackles to lead their respective teams, with Okereke adding a fumble recovery.
TEAMS IN OPPOSITION: This game featured the first matchup in the PAFL of the Sienzant brothers, (Walt of the Raiders, Hank of the Chargers). The Chargers were turnover-free, while the Raiders fumbled three times, losing two. The Chargers got 17 points in the red zone in three penetrations inside the 20, while the Raiders got ten points in three possessions in the red zone.
The two teams were close in yardage, with the Eagles getting 396 and the Chargers 395. The Raiders had 23 first downs in 62 plays from scrimmage, while the Chargers accumulated 18 in 48 plays.
The Raiders dominated the first half in terms of stats but left the field at halftime trailing 24-13. The Raiders had 15 first downs to eight for the Chargers, a nearly two-to-one time of possession advantage, and 228 yards from scrimmage to 141 for the Chargers. But a lost fumble and a turnover on downs in their own territory cost them dearly in that first half, as those turnovers led directly to ten points by the Chargers.
SEASON TO DATE: David Montgomery, who entered the game with 979 yards rushing, leapfrogged the inactive Josh Jacobs and now has 1150 yards on the ground to Jacobs' 1040. Jacobs has done more with less, however, as he has only 161 rushes and a 6.5 average, while Montgomery has 211 rushes and a 5.5 average. Both backs have over a thousand yards on the ground.
In the four games Jacobs hasn't had a carry, David Montgomery has stepped up in a big way and proven he can be an every-down back. In those four games, Montgomery has rushed 87 times for 477 yards and six touchdowns, an average of 5.5 yards per carry. During that span, he's also caught 11 passes for an additional 98 yards (8.9 yards per reception). Montgomery has moved up to fourth in the league in rushing at the moment and has passed Josh Jacobs in rushing and receiving yards. Jacobs has dropped to ninth in the league in rushing, with his total holding steady at 1040 yards on the ground. With one game left to play, it's likely Montgomery's 110-yard team rushing lead over Jacobs will hold up, as will his 87-yard lead in receiving yardage. Ironically, Jacobs was the Chargers' 11th overall pick, Montgomery lasted until he was selected by the Chargers in the second round with the 40th overall selection. Although Montgomery isn't perceived as having the pure ability of Josh Jacobs, the old adage must be true -- the best ability is availability.
Courtland Sutton, who wasn't in the top 25 in receptions as recently as after week 11, is now 17th in the league with 65 catches. He's second in yardage with 1520 yards, first in average with 23.4 yards per reception, and first in receiving touchdowns with 17.
Daniel Jones is ninth among qualifiers with a 107.6 passer rating, while the 38-year-old veteran quarterback Matt Schaub has put together two consecutive perfect passer rating games of 158.3, albeit on limited pass attempts (24).
Stephen Hauschka reached 100 points on the season with his two field goals and five extra points. He has one lone miss in his 19 field goal attempts, a percentage of 94.7%.
NEXT MAN UP: The Raiders lost defensive end Alex Okafor for the final game of the season. The Chargers were injury-free in the game, and get back starting offensive tackle Marcus Cannon, starting cornerback Marshon Lattimore, and running back Josh Jacobs next week. There is also a chance starting center Matt Skura can play next week as well. The Chargers will be minus three players next week, wide receiver John Ross, and defensive backs Tracy Walker and Amani Oruwariye.
A LOOK AHEAD: The 2-13 Oakland Raiders hosts the 3-11 (as of this writing) Kansas City Chiefs to finish out the season. Both teams are playing for pride only at this point. The 10-5 San Diego Chargers finish up their season on the road. If the Chargers are going to make the playoffs, the schedule is going to make them earn it. Their opponent in the final week of the season is the 13-1 (as of right now) Los Angeles Rams. Back in week six, these two teams faced off and the Rams won 35-28. Since that loss, the Chargers are 7-2 overall.
Posted on 18 Apr 2021 by Hank-Chargers
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