SAN DIEGO — The final statistics won’t reflect the Raiders’ performance Sunday, when their maligned pass defensive delivered its best game of the season.

San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, the NFL’s leading passer and a man who continues to be on pace to set the league’s single-season yardage record, threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns. He’s on track to throw for 5,605 yards this year at his current average.

The Raiders, who entered the week 31st against the pass, saw themselves fall behind the 49ers and into last in the league, now allowing 303.8 — the only team in the NFL surrendering more than 300 passing yards per game.

But in terms of true effectiveness, this was the team’s best performance.

“We played well,” safety Charles Woodson said. “I think our corners played really well on the edges. Linebackers were making tackles on the intermediate routes. We played well. This is one of those games where you fly around and it’s clicking for your team on all sides of the ball.

“As far as the first three quarters, that was as well as we could’ve played.”

The Raiders were on cruise control entering the fourth quarter, leading 37-6 and having held Rivers to just 123 passing yards.

“We were just out there doing our jobs,” cornerback DJ Hayden said. “Out there running around making plays and … we just ran the score up a little bit.

“We just got to finish football games. It’s always good to win, but we’ve got to still perfect our craft.”

Hayden had his first interception of the season and the third of his career when he picked off Rivers when he tried to target Keenan Allen, the NFL’s receptions leader. He provided tight coverage most of the afternoon in his strongest game of the season, which came just four days after defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. declared Hayden is “growing into one of the better corners in the league.”

“That means a lot,” Hayden said of Norton’s comments. “That means he believes in me. I believe in myself. We’ve just got to go out here and do work.”

Woodson also provided some high praise for the former first-round pick who has mostly been considered a disappointment in his three years with the Raiders.

“He played with sticky coverage out there,” Woodson said. “He came up with a big play early in the game and got an interception.

“DJ takes a lot of criticism. You read it all the time about him. But one thing about him, I think he just lets it roll off his back because he just comes out and plays every week no matter what anyone says.”

Of course, the effort all started on the third play of the game when TJ Carrie deflected a pass intended for Stevie Johnson and linebacker Malcolm Smith intercepted it.

Smith also had his best game of the season with 11 tackles, the team’s only sack, another quarterback hit and two pass defenses.

“We got a lot of a ability,” Smith said. We’ve got a high ceiling.”