Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers took advantage of a number of miscues on Monday night, defeating the Oakland Raiders on the road 22-14.
Rivers connected with Malcolm Floyd for a touchdown and Nate Kaeding kicked five field goals to propel the Chargers to victory
"I've always tried to take care of the football and be smart but you have to be able to manage the situation," Rivers told the Associated Press. "The situation today was our defense was playing good, our special teams is getting the ball. ... If you go back since I've been playing here and we don't turn the ball over, it's 90-something percent we win. That was the key for the offense tonight."
Rivers had 231 yards passing and was only sacked once. He also didn't turn the ball over, which the quarterback has emphasized this year after throwing 20 picks last season.
The Chargers have dealt with high expectations the past five years, with many feeling that the team was a Super Bowl contender. They missed the playoffs last year after going 8-8 and hoped to start the season on a positive note.
"We were without a couple guys we rely fairly heavily on, and I thought he managed the game, he did a good job on the critical third downs, got us in and out of bad plays," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "I thought he was accurate passing. He did throw the ball away when we didn't have anything."
The Chargers played without starting running back Ryan Mathews and were also starting rookie Mike Harris at left tackle. The offensive line did a good job blocking for Rivers, who connected with Floyd for a 6-yard touchdown in the second quarter to go up 10-3.
Even though they outgained the Chargers on yards, the Raiders had trouble on offense all night and also had a range of issues on special teams. The team didn't score a touchdown until the end of the fourth quarter and botched three punts after Pro Bowl long snapper Jon Condo left with an injury.
Backup long snapper Travis Goethel had issues getting the ball back to Raiders punter Shane Lechler, who is one of the most accurate and effective punters in the league. After Goethel skidded the ball back to Lechler, he was tackled for a loss, leaving the Chargers with a short field.
"It's pretty hard. It's hard snapping on the dirt, too. I've never snapped on the dirt before," Goethel said. "Trust me, I wish it never happened."
Quarterback Carson Palmer had 297 yards passing and no interceptions, but the offense was limited due to a number of injuries. The Raiders played without wide receivers Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford.
In the fourth quarter Kaeding kicked his fifth field goal to put the team up 22-6. He tied a career-high with the five kicks.
Kaeding, a Pro Bowler and one the NFL's most accurate kickers, was making his first appearance since missing all of last season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the first game.
"I can imagine you're going to see 31 other teams working a lot of backup long snappers come Wednesday," Kaeding said. "It's something a lot of teams honestly don't do a lot of. It's just one play away from someone having to go in there and get it done. It was unfortunate for them, obviously."
With under a minute left in the game the Raiders were able to get into the end zone, with Palmer finding Rod Streater for a two-yard touchdown.
San Diego will host the Tennessee Titans next week at home, while the Raiders will travel to Miami to play the Dolphins.
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