Defense leads way in Raiders’ latest surge

Chandler Jones had three first-half sacks and the Raiders won their third straight game, a 27-20 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dec 5, 2022

Good morning and welcome to The Morning Column presented by The Sporting Tribune. Please subscribe if you haven’t done so already. It’s free and will be delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. OK, let’s get to it!

1. Defense leads way in Raiders’ latest surge

Chandler Jones had three first-half sacks and the Raiders won their third straight, a 27-20 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. The Sporting Tribune’s Steve Carp has the latest on a Raiders team that now has something to play for when they travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams on Thursday.

With the Raiders, it’s never easy. But if you’re a member of Raider Nation, you’ve known that as long as you’ve attended a pregame tailgate, be it in Oakland, Los Angeles or here at Allegiant Stadium. It can be a dropped pass. A defensive penalty. A fumble. A communication breakdown. Any one of those things can spell doom for the Silver and Black. Sunday, the Raiders found a way to stay in front at the end against the Los Angeles Chargers despite flirting with the usual suspects that have defined their losing season to date. They made enough positive plays when they had to and kept the miscues to a manageable number.

2. Raiders own line of scrimmage, beat Chargers “Raider Way”

Raiders coach Josh McDaniels was criticized earlier this season when the team was struggling but The Sporting Tribune’s Ryan Sakamoto believes McDaniels deserves all the credit for fostering a "Raider Way" mentality that now has the team in position to make a playoff push.

The Las Vegas Raiders (4-7) came into the game with newfound hope. A team that had high expectations going into the season, the Raiders somehow found themselves on the outside looking in, as they were on the losing end in seven of their first nine games. But the team never wavered from their core principles nor did they fall victim to the noise. They trusted their coach and bought-into the program. The result was a two-game winning streak heading into Week 13.

3. Chargers can’t handle pressure from Raiders; drop to 6-6

The Chargers’ offense couldn’t protect Justin Herbert and the defense couldn’t slow down the Raiders’ attack as the Chargers now drop to 6-6. The Sporting Tribune’s Fernando Ramirez has more on the Chargers’ diminishing playoff hopes.

Sunday was probably one of the Chargers poorest performances of the season. They failed to protect their superstar quarterback, slow down two major offensive weapons, and came away with more questions than answers. The Chargers sit at 6-6 after losing 27-20 to the Las Vegas Raiders. As the losses keep mounting, it seems tougher and tougher to envision this as a playoff team because of numerous factors, but they don’t have the players.

4. Lakers hold off Wizards behind 55 points by Davis

Lakers are now 8-2 in their last 10 games with Anthony Davis averaging over 35 points and 15 rebounds per game during that stretch. The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde has more on the Lakers looking like a playoff team and Davis looking like an MVP candidate.

The Lakers continue to be hot as they ward off a late Wizards rally in Washington, D.C. They led by as many as 29 and the final tally was 130-119. There was no letdown from the Milwaukee game, after all! It really comes down to Anthony Davis being dominant. When he’s not beating the Wizards one-on-one, he gets great set-ups from LeBron James or Russell Westbrook. He probably would’ve sat out the fourth quarter if the Wizards didn’t cut the deficit to single digits halfway through the fourth. I thought we were going to get a repeat of the Indiana game. But Davis and LeBron James snuffed the rally, punctuated by back-to-back dunks.

5. Bailey rescues No. 21 UCLA to beat Oregon

The Bruins were in trouble after the first half but Amari Bailey ignited their offense en route to a nine-point UCLA victory over Oregon. The Sporting Tribune’s Kamran Nia has more from Pauley Pavilion.

Despite a grim offensive performance, the No. 19 UCLA Bruins emerged victorious against the Oregon Ducks. Amari Bailey ignited their offense after struggling early. In the first half, the Bruins made 30.3 percent of their shots and scored just 21 points. They missed all of their three-point shot attempts and went to the free-throw line once. To make matters worse for the Bruins, their two veteran leaders, Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell, were struggling. Jaquez spent much of the half on the bench in foul trouble, while Campbell missed all eight shots he attempted. The touted playmaker, Campbell, also failed to dish out a single assist before the halfway mark.

6. Injuries present McTavish with an opportunity for expanded role

In a season that’s been full of dread and dreary for the Ducks, it’s easy to see why it would be difficult to pick out any bright spots. Thankfully, there are a few. The Sporting Tribune’s Derek Lee has some silver linings for Ducks fans to focus on.

There’s the continued excellence of Troy Terry, who’s building off of last season’s breakout performance. Trevor Zegras seems to add another highlight to his reel almost every night with his package of exquisite puck skills. Perhaps going a bit unnoticed outside of the Anaheim sphere is how well Mason McTavish has fared in what will be his first full season in the NHL. In a nine-game cup of coffee last season, McTavish didn’t look out of place. He scored his first NHL goal in the first game of the season after being notified hours before the game that he would be drawing in.

7. Odds and Ends presented by Circa Sports

Here are some odds at Circa Sports if you’re thinking about placing a wager today:

8. Ticket Time presented by TickPick

Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game this week:

Carolina Hurricane @ Anaheim Ducks (Tuesday): $23

9. On the Air presented by Pirnia Law

Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:

4:00 p.m. – LA Clippers at Charlotte Hornets – Bally Sports SoCal

10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune

On Friday’s show, the crew talked about USC football and Caleb Williams’ chances to win the Heisman Trophy with The Sporting Tribune’s Michael Duarte.

Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Fan in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.

Thank you for reading. Please click below to subscribe to The Morning Column presented by The Sporting Tribune. It’s totally free and will be delivered to your inbox every morning.

That’s it for today. Talk to you all tomorrow!