It will go down as one of the sadder moments in Chargers history for anyone who was at the old San Diego stadium on Sunday.

The Chargers offense, trying to pull out a game against their arch-rival, the Oakland Raiders, trotted back onto Jack Murphy Field with 2:35 to play, down three points.

And the pro-Raiders crowd created a din worthy of the Oakland Coliseum.

Spurred on by their fans, who made up at least 70 percent of the 68,352 in attendance, the Raiders stopped the Chargers and took a 19-16 victory on the same day that an NFL rights-holder, CBS, reported that Chargers Owner-Chairman Dean Spanos is inclined to move the team to Los Angeles in 2017 because San Diego isn’t lucrative enough for him or the League.


When Philip Rivers and mates assembled near the east end zone at Qualcomm Stadium to try to muster a tying or go-ahead drive from their 14, Raiders fans created enough noise that the Bolts went to a silent count.

The Chargers, enemies in their own home, were unable to respond.

Two incompletions — Rivers blamed himself for the first, an errant throw toward Travis Benjamin -- and Bruce Irvin’s sack created fourth-and-15.

When Rivers was hit while following through on the fourth-down pass, Raiders safety Reggie Nelson picked it off.


Not done competing, Chargers center Matt Slauson and Rivers made sure that Nelson was stopped, but the outcome was sealed.

The Chargers (5-9) were assured consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 2000-01, the era of coach Mike Riley and quarterback Ryan Leaf.

The Raiders (11-3) took over first place in the AFC West with yet another close victory.

The Chargers drew spirited work from their defense, which, behind Damion Square and Kyle Emanuel, staged a goal-line stand.


Twice, the defense stole the ball in the red zone.

Cornerback Casey Hayward made several good plays, as did linebackers Melvin Ingram. For the second game in a row, newcomer Trovon Reed picked off a pass.

Rivers, bouncing back from a subpar outing at Carolina, hit Benjamin and rookie Hunter Henry with touchdown passes.

However, Chargers special teams again turned in a poor performance, notwithstanding a 69-yard punt from rookie Drew Kaser that pinned Oakland on its 3.


Josh Lambo, the second-year kicker, missed a one-point kick wide right when the ball was tipped with the Chargers ahead 16-13, and, earlier, kicked the ball out of bounds, leading to three points for the Raiders when they drove from their 40.

Also, Chargers kick return units had two holding penalties, causing the offense to start inside its 20; and a subpar kickoff by Lambo allowed Oakland to start at its 29.

San Diego began its final drive at the 14, because that’s as far as it could take the kickoff.

“We started inside our (20) a lot, and then there’s 11 people (Raiders) trying to stop us,” Rivers said.


Chargers rookie Kenneth Farrow, though effective as a power rusher, had a fumble inside San Diego’s 20 that led to three points.

In light of how close the competition was, it is not going too far to assign Chargers special teams with responsibility for the defeat, and their miscues have plagued San Diego in several other one-score defeats this season.

The pro-Raiders crowd certainly added to the difficulties for Chargers players, who bear no blame for the Stadium Game that has turned off many Chargers fans.

In person, the pro-Raiders cheers were louder than the CBS telecast likely conveyed.


Rivers thanked the Chargers fans for showing up.

Raiders fans saw their team improve to 4-0 against San Diego under Oakland coach Jack Del Rio.

The next game will take the Chargers to Cleveland, where they will face the winless Browns on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT.

Tom.Krasovic@SDUnionTribune.com; Twitter: SDUTKrasovic