Raiders fall to Justin Herbert, Chargers’ ball-hawking defense

Geno Smith was picked off three times in his second start with the Raiders (1-1) as they fell 20-9 to the Chargers.

Sep 16, 2025, 10:10 AM Updated: 11:45 am

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Justin Herbert passed for 242 yards and two touchdowns to help the visiting Los Angeles Chargers notch a 20-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night.

Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston caught scoring passes as the Chargers (2-0) defeated the Raiders for the third straight time. Daiyan Henley, Tony Jefferson and Donte Jackson each had an interception for Los Angeles.

Geno Smith was picked off three times in his second start with the Raiders (1-1) to take over the NFL lead with four picks. Smith completed 24 of 43 passes for 180 yards, while Daniel Carlson provided all the Las Vegas points with three field goals.

Geno Smith did not complete any of his 12 pass attempts over 10 yards downfield against the Chargers, throwing three interceptions on those passes.

He became the only quarterback since 2016 to attempt at least 10 downfield passes in a game without a completion.#LVvsLAC pic.twitter.com/YdzDOulRUx

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 16, 2025

The Chargers lost star pass rusher Khalil Mack to a left elbow injury on the final play of the first quarter. He later returned to the sideline with his left arm heavily wrapped and sporting a sling.

Herbert completed 19 of 27 passes and had a team-best 31 rushing yards on nine carries for Los Angeles, which outgained the Raiders 317-218 in total yards.

The first two drives of the second half lasted a combined 18 minutes, 45 seconds without either team finding the end zone.

The Chargers had the ball for 7 1/2 minutes to start the third quarter, and the 12-play, 72-yard drive was capped by Cameron Dicker’s 20-yard field goal to push the lead to 20-6. The Raiders then erased 11:15 off the clock during a 19-play, 62-yard drive, settling for Carlson’s 37-yard field goal with 11:15 left in the game.

Los Angeles failed on fourth-and-1 from midfield later in the quarter and Las Vegas took over at the Chargers 43 with 8:10 to play.

However, the Raiders came up empty despite reaching the 15. On third-and-15 from the 20, Smith threw into the end zone for Jakobi Meyers. Los Angeles star Derwin James Jr. broke up the pass, and the deflected ball caromed to Jackson for an interception and a touchback with 5:58 left.

The Raiders’ next possession ended with Henley fourth-down sack of Smith with 3:57 remaining.

The Chargers moved ahead 10-3 when Herbert tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Allen with 20 seconds left in the opening quarter. Carlson drilled a 40-yard field goal to move Las Vegas within four with 9:54 to go in the half.

Los Angeles increased its lead to 17-6 when Herbert connected with Johnston on a 60-yard scoring pass with 1:51 remaining in the second quarter. Johnston caught the ball around the 15-yard line en route to his third touchdown in two games.

The teams traded field goals in the first quarter — Dicker hitting from 38 yards and Carlson connecting from 54 yards.

–Field Level Media