National Football League

Group effort ends skid vs. San Diego;RAIDERS 35, CHARGERS 27

Published Oct. 11, 2010 10:08 a.m. ET

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The Chargers never saw the Raiders coming Sunday. From two blocked punts in the first five minutes of the game, to backup quarterback Jason Campbell coming in to boos and becoming the hero, to Michael Huff knocking the ball out of San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers' hand and Tyvon Branch returning the fumble 64 yards for a touchdown with 58 seconds left.

Oakland was outgained 506 yards to 279 but won 35-27 at the Coliseum in a game that showed its toughness and resilience and rewarded the faith of 48,279 fans. The victory also snapped a 13-game losing streak to San Diego and puts the Raiders 2-3 in a three-way tie for second place in the AFC West.

"Everybody was fighting," said running back Michael Bush, who ran 3 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 3:39 remaining. "We never gave up, and that's something in the past I couldn't say the same. We hung in there. Hopefully, this is us getting over the hump, and now we'll keep building from here."

The Raiders all did their part lifting the building blocks. Campbell replaced injured Bruce Gradkowski and got the game ball for directing 97- and 73-yard touchdown drives in the second half, Bush, Rock Cartwright, Brandon Myers, special-teams coach John Fassel, Zach Miller, Huff, Branch and many others deserved a curtain call.

"It was a great, great team effort," coach Tom Cable said. "A tremendous win for us. It's good to stop the streak. But as I said to them, let's not make this a 24-hour feel-good party. Let's make this who we are becoming."

With the Chargers 2-3 driving for the potential go-ahead score, a blitzing Huff hit Rivers just before his arm went forward, knocking the ball loose, and the call stood after a review. After Rivers had picked apart Oakland's defense for 431 yards and two touchdowns, Cable turned the dogs loose and started blitzing Rivers almost every play down the stretch.

"All they needed was a field goal," Huff said, "so we just dialed up the pressure four or five times in a row and made a play."

It was the third fumble of the game lost by the Chargers; the Raiders had no turnovers. Oakland fans might want to tip their caps to former Raiders head coach Norv Turner, as the Chargers' head coach took his foot off the pedal and ran the ball five out of six plays to end the third quarter and start the fourth.

That led to a Nate Kaeding 34-yard field goal that put San Diego up 27-22 with 12 minutes left in the game. Campbell then led the Raiders on a 14-play, 73-yard drive that took 8:21, with the big plays being three passes to Miller for 29 yards and a 4th-and-1 pass to Myers for 12 yards.

After Bush scored, the Raiders went for a two-point conversion, but Campbell's pass sailed by a covered Johnnie Lee Higgins.

It was a rare mistake for Campbell, who had been benched the second game of the season but found himself back on the field Sunday when Gradkowski reinjured his shoulder late in the first quarter.

Campbell completed 13 of 18 passes for 159 yards and a 1-yard touchdown to Miller in the third quarter. And did we mention that he was booed by Raiders fans after his first pass of the game went incomplete to Louis Murphy?

"I was like, 'Are they mistaking me for somebody else?' " Campbell said, smiling. "I haven't been here long enough for them to even know me yet. I know Bruce has been a fan favorite over the years and I was like, 'Why would they not like me?' I've only been here for a quarter and a half."

Campbell got in a rhythm later, and he even might have won over some fans.

"I was just excited to see everyone rocking," Campbell said of the scene after the game was over. "I thought a party was about to happen or something here. It was fun to see everyone smile."

Cartwright and Myers got the party started with blocked punts in the first moments of the game. Cartwright burst through the middle for the first block against Mike Scifres, knocking the ball out of the end zone for a safety.

Then, a free kick out of bounds led to a field goal. And just three plays after that, Myers blocked Scifres' punt into Hiram Eugene's hands for a touchdown that made it 12-0 with 10:33 left in the first quarter.

"The special teams got us started off," Gradkowski said. "The defense came up with some big plays and the offense had those big drives late. Just a total team effort, the whole package.

"I was getting chills on the sidelines there at the end. The fans were so into it, the place was electric. Even though I am hurting, I am just excited to be a part of this."

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