Yes, there were many positives that came out of the game, but the two glaring weaknesses were the Raiders inability to stop a no-huddle offense - I'll never understand why teams go into a "prevent" defense; all they ever seem to do is "prevent" you from winning - and JaMarcus Russell missing receivers...by a lot.
The Raiders' defense had limited the Chargers' oft-explosive offense to a mere 152 yards through three quarters. Then Philip Rivers carved the Raiders up for 166 yards on their final two drives.
Russell, meanwhile, finished with a passer rating of 47.6, completing 12 of 30 passes for 208 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. But if you take away his 57-yard TD bomb to rookie receiver Louis Murphy, Russell was just 11 of 29 for 149 yards.
"We left a lot of plays out there and we let some things get away from us," Russell said. "But the best thing to do about that is we have a short week coming up and Kansas City will be on our mind."
The positives? The recently acquired Richard Seymour made a huge difference, what with two sacks and six tackles.
"I like what I see, I really do," Seymour said. "I think the guys fought hard and left it all out on the field. I'm encouraged by what I see from the guys but we have to get better as a team and hang together."
Plus, the Raiders took this loss hard.
Confused? Let Tom Cable explain.
"Very hurt, very disappointed," Cable said in describing the Raiders locker room. "And that is a good thing, because I have been a Raider since 2007 and I feel like that is the first time in the locker room after a loss where it really got in your gut. And that is a good thing. It sounds funny but that is the way you are supposed to feel about this game so I am proud of them. Very proud of my team."
And this from Chargers tight end Antonio Gates: "Yeah, they aren't the same team. They have guys that want to win and play hard. I'll tell you what - it was a battle. They always say this is a game of inches, and a few plays changed the game today. They played their hearts out."
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