OAKLAND, Calif. _ The Chargers promised they wouldn't overlook Oakland on Sunday.
And they didn't.
Though they didn't exactly overwhelm the Raiders, they survived and escaped the Bay Area with a 20-6 victory.
The win was the Chargers' sixth in a row and lifted them to 7-2 overall. They haven't opened with a record this good since their 14-2 season of 2006.
Melvin Gordon rushed 18 times for 93 yards, caught five passes and 72 yards and scored a touchdown.
Keenan Allen had the Chargers' other touchdown, on an 11-yard reception from Philip Rivers, who finished 18 of 26 for 223 yards.
Rookie kicker Michael Badgley, who was given the job last week when Caleb Sturgis was cut, made two field goals and both his extra-point attempts.
The Chargers had a 7-point lead at halftime but opened up a two-score edge when Gordon turned a short pass into a 66-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.
They started sluggishly on offense, going three-and-out on their first two possessions, one of which began in the very limiting position of their own 1-yard line.
Rivers finished the first quarter with zero completions on three attempts and the Chargers with zero first downs. They had only six total yards.
The Raiders led 3-0 on a Daniel Carlson 46-yard field goal, the Chargers' defense preventing more damage with a fourth-and-goal stand on the game's first series.
The defense then kick-started the offense when Melvin Ingram sacked Derek Carr and forced a fumble. Corey Liuget picked up the ball and returned to 24 yards to the Oakland 40.
Eleven plays netted 31 yards and resulted in a Badgley game-tying field goal from 27 yards.
The Chargers' offense finally got untracked to close out the first half, going 91 yards in eight plays with Rivers passing 11 yards to Allen for the game's first touchdown.
The score was the first for Allen since Week 1 and put the Chargers up 10-3 entering the third quarter.
