5 takeaways from Chargers’ win over Raiders in Week 13

The Chargers took care of business on Sunday, dispatching the Raiders by a final score of 31-14.

Here's what to take away from the performance by LA.

Third down efficiency

Los Angeles was 12-of-17 on third down offensively on Sunday, including a 6-of-6 start led by Justin Herbert's pinpoint accuracy early in the game. The Chargers also held Las Vegas to 2-of-8 on third downs, including four plays that resulted in sacks of Raiders quarterback Geno Smith. That allowed LA to outsnap Las Vegas 67 to 46, and for the Chargers to lead the time of possession battles by more than 11 minutes.

Mashing ground game

The Chargers ran for 192 yards as a team on Sunday, led by 126 and a touchdown by Kimani Vidal on 25 carries as the lead back. Backup Jaret Patterson, signed off the practice squad yesterday, added 54 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Vidal's performance made him the first Chargers running back with three games of 100+ yards rushing in a single season since Melvin Gordon in 2018. A 59-yard scamper up the left sideline both got Vidal close to that milestone and swung the momentum back in the Chargers' direction after a frustrating first half.

Sharing the ball

Justin Herbert threw for only 151 yards on Sunday and had to miss half of one drive with a hand injury suffered in the first quarter (Trey Lance completed his only pass attempt for 9 yards). As a result, there wasn't much opportunity for the Chargers' receivers to have a big game, so LA made sure all their weapons got a few chances. No Charger had more than 39 yards receiving (Ladd McConkey), but five - McConkey, Tre' Harris, Keenan Allen, Oronde Gadsden II, and Quentin Johnston - had at least 20 yards. McConkey and Johnston found the end zone, while Allen continued to be Herbert's go-to target on third downs. Harris and Gadsden both set up Chargers red-zone opportunities with catches that went inside the 15-yard line.

Run defense

The Chargers held Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty to his third-lowest yardage total (31) and yards per attempt (2.9) of the season on Sunday, allowing a long of only 9 yards. It was the third time this season that Jeanty was unable to generate a run of at least 10 yards following Week 1 against the Patriots and Week 7 against the Chiefs. 5 of Jeanty's 15 carries were stuffed for no gain or a loss, including a 4th & 1 play off the left end that was tripped up by Tuli Tuipulotu.

Pass rush awakening

The Chargers put 5 sacks of Smith into the stat sheet on Sunday, 4 of which came on third downs. Tuipulotu had two takedowns to bring his season total into double digits, rewarding the bet LA placed on him when they released Joey Bosa this offseason and elevated Tuipulotu into a full-time starter. Bud Dupree had the final sack of Smith, the only one that did not come on third down. The other two sacks were shared: Khalil Mack, Daiyan Henley, Derwin James Jr., and Da'Shawn Hand all were credited with half sacks by ESPN. The Raiders were operating with two backup offensive linemen, but it was still an encouraging performance from a unit the Chargers will need to be at their best down the stretch.

This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Chargers vs. Raiders: 5 takeaways from LA’s 31-14 win in Week 13