Film review shows Raiders dished blatant dirty hits as Chargers dominated

The Los Angeles Chargers beat down their AFC West division rival Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. The Chargers sent Las Vegas home with a 31-14 loss and a playoff elimination before the start of December.

The game was close in the first half. The Chargers marched down the field on their opening offensive possession. Quarterback Justin Herbert suffered a broken left hand on the second-to-last play of the opening drive before throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Quentin Johnston.

Justin Herbert is tough and he returned to the game after getting x-rays, his hand cast, taped and covered with a glove. He ultimately only missed eight plays. The Chargers offense was not as successful for the remainder of the first half.

Offensive coordinator Greg Roman adjusted to Herbert’s sudden limitations and a balanced attack broke down the Raiders in the second half. The gameplan and constant variation of pass protections and personnel groupings started to frustrate Raiders defenders.

Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby participated in a few dirty plays with the Chargers. Crosby leveled Chargers left guard Zion Johnson with a violent hit through his back and blindside on a Kimani Vidal run to the left.

Maxx Crosby was getting frustrated yesterday against the #Chargers. He was flagged for shoving Justin Herbert, but this was a much dirtier play.
Watch Crosby full speed drop Zion Johnson in the back… pic.twitter.com/J8q4YTCUhK

— Thomas Martinez (@BoltsDraftTalk) December 1, 2025

Raiders linebacker Elandon Roberts appeared to attempt to hit Justin Herberts broken hand on multiple occasions. Roberts also hit Justin Herbert late on a rollout to the left.

The swipe at his broken hand was not the only cheap shot Raiders linebacker Elandon Roberts threw at Justin Herbert
⬇️ https://t.co/79Py2h0kED pic.twitter.com/AW7143Esv9

— Thomas Martinez (@BoltsDraftTalk) December 2, 2025

Justin Herbert appeared to goad Maxx Crosby after several of the hits on himself and teammates were not flagged. Crosby reacted by shoving Herbert to the ground.

Maxx Crosby and Justin Herbert are going back and forth pic.twitter.com/lUCgA1JVgX

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 1, 2025

Herbert may have over-dramatized the shove from Crosby to draw the penalty flag. The shove to Herbert drew the 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and the Chargers ultimately scored again to put the game on ice. Herbert was successful in finally drawing more attention to the way the Raiders defenders were playing.

The Chargers are no strangers to having a quarterback who is willing to engage with defenders on the field.

I WILL DO IT BY YOUR EAR pic.twitter.com/ayVxtzi90f

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) December 1, 2025

The Raiders handed out several cheap shots in their losing effort and were officially eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. There is no love lost between the two AFC West rivals.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Chargers from Los Angeles Chargers on SI —

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