Raiders report card: Offensive changes don’t improve grades

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — How the Raiders performed in a 31-14 loss to the Chargers on Sunday at SoFi Stadium:

Offense: D-

Maybe Chip Kelly wasn’t the only problem.

The Raiders fired their offensive coordinator last week and replaced him with Greg Olson as the team’s play-caller, but the results were largely the same.

Problems on the offensive line remained glaring, and third downs were a nightmare as the Raiders went 2-for-8. They ran for just 31 yards on 18 carries and finished with 156 total yards.

The Raiders drove 82 yards for their first touchdown, then put together another scoring drive in the fourth quarter when the Chargers led 24-7.

Star tight end Brock Bowers was the lone bright spot. He caught four passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns, keeping the Raiders from a failing grade.

Defense: C-

The Chargers had plenty of success, but the Raiders made them earn it.

They knocked quarterback Justin Herbert out of the game briefly in the first quarter after a hit from safety Jeremy Chinn and held Los Angeles to seven points in the first half.

The Raiders even made a solid goal-line stand when Kyu Blu Kelly intercepted Herbert in the end zone in the second quarter.

The defense eventually wore down, as the Chargers held the ball for nearly 36 minutes.

The biggest disappointment was how easily the Chargers ran the ball (192 yards), even with a decimated offensive line. That hadn’t been happening against the Raiders.

Special teams: B

The group didn’t have much of a role either way.

There were no standout moments and no glaring errors, which is just fine for a special teams unit.

Dylan Laube did bobble the opening kickoff, but he quickly recovered and got the Raiders decent field position.

The Raiders also had a chance to recover a Chargers fumble on a punt return but couldn’t come up with possession.

Coaching: C

There’s only so much this coaching staff can do with the lack of talent, but it isn’t finding ways to maximize the pieces they do possess.

The Raiders were again dominated on third downs, which has been at least to some extent a schematic issue.

Olson’s presence didn’t do much to fix the offense. The Raiders didn’t eclipse 100 total yards until a garbage time drive midway through the fourth quarter.

The Raiders also committed silly penalties on defense.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.