SAN DIEGO, September 10, 1978. The Oakland Raiders, trailing the San Diego Chargers 20-14, were on the Charger 14-yard line with 10 seconds left and no timeouts. Raider quarterback Ken Stabler rolled to his right and was grabbed by Charger linebacker Woodrow Lowe. As Stabler was falling, he bowled the football along the ground.
“We had no timeouts,” said Stabler. “If I get sacked, the game’s over. In a situation like that, you just fling the ball and hope something happens to it."
In Rule 8, Section 4, Article 2, it states under “exceptions”: “If a runner intentionally fumbles forward, it is a forward pass.” With the ball now rolling near the 20-yard line, Raider running back Pete Banaszak batted it toward the goal line.
“If I fall on it, the game’s over,” Banaszak said. “I just batted it.”
In Rule 12, Section 2, Article 17, it states: “A player may not bat or punch: (a) a loose ball (in field of play) toward an opponent’s goal line.”
Dave Casper, a Raiders tight end fell on the ball in the end zone. Touchdown. Oakland won 21-20.
You could argue that The Holy Roller led to a couple of positive things: head coach Tommy Prothero's exit, Don Coryell's hiring, Rolf Benershke being properly diagnosed with Crohn's Disease which eventually saved his life, oh, and a new rule about advancing a fumbled ball.
In 1978 though, The Holy Roller was just the latest fortuitous bounce of the ball for a franchise that had so many of them that you need Wikipedia to keep them sorted. The Sea of Hands. The Heidi Game. The Ghost to the Post. The Holy Roller.
But those days are over.
The modern incarnation of the Raiders still generates memorable nicknames that have become shorthand for their fans to recollect games, seasons, or players—but commiserate is probably the more appropriate word. The Antonio Brown Experience. Barret Robbins' Mexican Field Trip. John Gruden's emails. Henry Ruggs III. Chandler Jones. The JaMarcus Russell era. The victory lap around Arrowhead honking the horn of the bus. The Tuck Rule.
This was the franchise that coined slogans like Pride and Poise, Just Win Baby, and Commitment to Excellence. We still use them today but primarily to mock what misnomers they have become.
The point being that Destiny dumped the Raiders over twenty years ago in a snowstorm. The fact that the Raiders never really avenged the Tuck Game is about as on-brand as anything the Silver and Black have accomplished in this century.
If you can't beat em, hire em!
Enter the Mark Davis brain trust (stifling my own laughter) who has decided that emulating the Patriot Way is the best path forward for this rudderless ship. By hiring Josh McDaniel—another failson of a sort if you consider calling Bill Belichek his daddy—and general manager Dave Ziegler the Raiders are leaning in to emulating the Patriot Way.
And their fans are loving every minute of it! Just peruse a Raiders message board after a game to see how patient these people are after over twenty years of losing. It really is admirable.
Bolt Bros Podcast
Kyle Sawyer (Season Record 1-2)
The "Broracle" reads the runes!
WUNJO. The Bolt Fam can rejoice in our victory against the Vikings! Now is the time to keep that energy flowing through us onto Week4.
HAGALAZ. With this renewed energy a storm is brewing in our hearts. It is now time to evolve into the team we know we are supposed to be!
EHWAZ. The road to the Super Bowl is long. We must go with the flow and take it one play at a time.
Chargers 27 - 24 Raiders
Riverslake Yacht Club
Señor Snappy (Season Record 0-0)
Re-watched last season’s Week 13 game, which was a 27-20 loss to the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Will Clapp and Foster Sarrell were on the offensive line. Mike Williams did not play, but Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler did. Justin Herbert was still not right. Ekeler fumbled away a promising driving and a lot of momentum. Cameron Dicker missed a long field goal try.
The Raiders looked dominant for most of the first 3 quarters, save for one outstanding Chargers drive. Herbert was constantly pressured and still successfully ran the ball including a 4th-down sneak. The Raiders seemed to lose focus in the fourth quarter and the Chargers defense started clicking.
The Chargers had two chances to tie the game. The Chargers never got to Derek Carr, barely even touching him. Michael Davis played Davante Adams well but couldn’t prevent a big game from him. The Chargers seemed to sell out to stop Josh Jacobs for much of the first half.
How are the Raiders looking this season? Last week, the Pittsburg Steelers pressured the quarterback well , but the Chargers can’t expect the same. The Raiders looked very good on run defense (even former Charger Jerry Tillery!), but are vulnerable to the pass as long as the Chargers can get decent blocking. If the Chargers are able to get a modicum of pressure on the Raiders (as of this writing, Jimmy Garoppolo looks unlikely to play), they can run away with this game.
The Raiders always play the Chargers hard--sometimes dirty. The Raiders tackle soundly and their special teams are a strength, helping keep them in games. The Chargers are improving on these fronts but are still unreliable.
Week 4 is a difficult game to predict: I see no reason to trust the Chargers defense but they might do just enough, having shown enormous heart in defeating the Vikings with a magnificent goal line stand to decide the game.
I trust Keenan Allen can still beat anyone the Raiders put on him, and I like how Herbert has been dealing with pressure this season. I’d like to see Kellen Moore’s offense make the Raiders defense look silly, which will happen if Herbert can manage the pressure and hit a few runs. I expect a tough win—the Chargers and Brandon Staley must treat this game with the intensity they did the Vikings. If we’re being honest, Staley must produce a win here. He ought to.
Chargers 22 - Raiders 17
Kea-Lava
Kea Humilde (Season Record 1-2)
We all know them. We all hate them. That’s right, it’s Rai-turds week. Thankfully, our guys won’t have to make a trip to the Las Vegas toilet bowl of a stadium just yet, but I am impatiently waiting for our guys to flush them away.
It’s hard to tell where the crap ends or begins with the Rai-turds. From kicking a field goal when they were down 8 points to pretty version of Derek Carr’s last-minute interception against the Steelers, we can’t come in at #2 in this matchup.
Bring it on, Chargers: Family. Trust. Respect.
Chargers 34 - Raiders 14
Thunder Down Under Podcast
Jack Reed (Season Record 0-3)
Jimmy Garoppolo's passer rating under pressure is 11.6 through three games. He is 37th in the league. Guys like Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu should try and get to him as much as possible.
If Garoppolo can't play, do you want to see the rookie Aiden O'Connell or the veteran Brian Hoyer? Hoyer is another former Patriot who is well-versed in the system, but is also not ever going to be mistaken for Tom Brady.
The Raiders have really struggled to get Josh Jacobs going but the Chargers have a way of being just what the doctor ordered so look for him to have a bounce-back game. Chargers 34 - Raiders 28
Señor Salty
Mark White (Season Record 2-1)
These teams are not going anywhere in the big picture and this game is purely about braggadocio. Call it the Super Bowl part 1.
As the ex-Charger fan turned Raiders fan, these yearly matchups are like my mini chips. Bragging rights until the next match up, highlights to share, it’s a wonderful (or dreadful) time.
Unfortunately, the Chargers are coming into the point of the season where they’re going to look unstoppable, especially if Austin Ekeler is fit to go. You all know what I’m talking about too.
Chargers 34 - Raiders 17
The Greek Uncles in Chicago
Abram Sexson and Panos Mamalis (Season Record 1-2)
Thia Aliki always cautioned us to be careful taking a wounded goat to slaughter after uncle Gus took a horn to the armpit. It's Raider week! The hated Raiders come to LA looking like a team ready to take the L. It’s time to take care of business.
The national narrative: the Bolts are underperforming because of coaching. Just like perennial rivals Poseidon and Athena who vied for their claim to Athens, both these teams are fighting for the hearts of Los Angeles.
Rather than duke it out, Athena suggested a gifting contest. War was avoided and Athena’s olive tree proved to be the better gift than Poseidon’s flashy salt water spring. Like Poseidon, you can take the Raiders out of Oakland, but they are still a salty crew.
Like Athena, Staley will find some wisdom and beat out an overmatched group of hobbled pirates with a concussed signal-caller.
Chargers 30 - Raiders 17
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Algorithm obeisance: LA Chargers Football Predictions