The Monday Night football match-up between the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders was truly a day to forget. A bout that was projected to be no contest for the heavily favored Chargers turned ugly as Oakland played smash mouth football, running on almost half of their possessions. Their strategy dominated the Chargers apparent lack of run defense and exposed their inability to cover opponent's tight ends. Oakland TE Zach Miller finished with a team high 96 yards on 6 receptions. Nobody expected the Raiders to put up any kind of resistance, but Oakland came to play and head coach Tom Cable had his players ready to win. As ESPN analyst Chris Berman says, "This is why they play the game". The Chargers did hold out to beat the Raiders 24-20, ending the 4th quarter with a methodical final two-minute drive capped off by a Darren Sproles 5 yard touchdown run. This is the 12th straight time the Raiders have fallen to the Chargers. San Diego has new problems though, as both starting offensive linemen, Center Nick Hardwick and Rookie Right Guard Louis Vasquez limped off the field Monday night. Hardwick suffered an ankle injury and Vasquez has a sprained knee, they are listed as day-to-day.
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