The Raiders took advantage of the Chargers’ bye week to move to the top of the AFC West standing. The Chargers had the opportunity to return the favor in Week 8, facing the Patriots in Los Angeles while the Raiders are on their bye. But the Chargers fell just short.
In the end, it was the Chargers’ defense that faltered, allowing the Patriots to take nearly seven minutes off the clock late in the fourth quarter to go up by two scores.
The drive left just over two minutes for the Chargers to score twice. They moved quickly, scoring a touchdown in 40 seconds on a pass from Justin Herbert to Josh Palmer from 24 yards out. But former Chargers TE Hunter Henry made the catch on the onside kick attempt to seal the win for the Patriots.
Leading the Patriots in receiving was former Raiders WR Nelson Agholor with three catches for 60 yards.
The loss dropped the Chargers to 4-3 on the season. A win would have brought the Chargers to a 5-2 tie with the Raiders with the Charger owning the tiebreaker on the head-to-head.
Instead, the Raiders retain their spot atop the AFC West heading into week nine.
As for the Chargers and Chiefs, they both came into this week at 3-4 trying to get back to .500. The Broncos beat the Washington Football Team 17-10 to do just that while the Chiefs face the Giants on Monday Night Football.
