Raiders embarrass Chargers in 63-21 rout on Thursday Night Football: Live updates, highlights and an
Normally, the big-guy touchdown is the cherry on the sundae, a special moment that takes a win to another level and the celebration from players and fans to a higher pitch and crescendo.
But when John Jenkins stumbled and rumbled 44 yards for a touchdown Thursday night, that only gave the Las Vegas Raiders a 56-7 lead over the Los Angeles Chargers. They weren’t done.
The visiting team had not only come out flat, they laid down in the second quarter and never put up a fight. The Raiders were only too happy to elbow drop their rival, as they wanted to show a national television audience and Raiders owner Mark Davis that interim coach Antonio Pierce should get the full-time job.
Two plays after Jenkins’ score, Raiders cornerback Jack Jones flew into the Chargers backfield anticipating a screen pass. As he jumped through the air between quarterback Easton Stick and running back Austin Ekeler, Jones realized something.
“I was up there thinking, ‘Damn, I overran it,’” Jones said. “So I reached back … and that thing just stuck … and I was like, ‘Oh yeah.’”
As Jones described the motion where he twisted and reached back with his right hand, snagged the ball, and then ran 16 yards for a touchdown, he covered his mouth and started laughing. He almost fell down he was so happy.
Jones still couldn’t believe it. Neither could Davis, who television cameras caught covering and uncovering his eyes in his suite.
The 63-21 win was a night that Jones and Davis and Pierce will never forget. Not only because the Raiders set a franchise record for points and embarrassed the Chargers, but because this might be the night the players got Pierce the full-time job.
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