Michael Bush - 33 touches, 242 yards, 1 TD
Why do the Oakland Raiders seem to be better than the San Diego Chargers the last few seasons? For the same reason the Chargers cannot beat teams like the Jets and Steelers: The Raiders are stronger and tougher, especially on the lines, than San Diego. That's why, every time the Chargers play them, guys like Michael Bush seem to turn into all-world RBs. When each one of Oakland's blockers are taking out two Chargers, it leaves some big holes to run through.
Denarius Moore - 5 catches, 123 rec yards, 2 TDs
The worst part about Moore's big day? He was sitting on the bench on my fantasy team. Silly me, I thought Quentin Jammer could cover a rookie WR who was being thrown to be a rusty (possibly over-the-hill) QB. Actually, that's the second worst thing.
The worst thing was the Raiders' offensive gameplan, which consisted of 2 yard passes (when the Chargers DBs were playing back), runs up the gut (going for 5+ yards per carry) and long play-action passes. This is how Carson Palmer ended up with 15(!) yards per pass attempt. You'd think an NFL defense would be able to stop a 3-play offense.
Vincent Jackson - 1 catch, 22 rec yards
Vincent Jackson has shown NFL scouts a lot this season. He's shown them that he needs Antonio Gates to play well because he cannot beat double-coverage. He's shown that he's not willing to go up and fight for the football (meaning he's only useful to really accurate QBs). He's shown an inability to stay healthy. More than anything, Vincent has shown that he's a very talented (but not elite) WR. Not seeing the football on that long interception was lame, but I guess these things happen. Getting juked out of his shoes immediately afterwards was pretty bad too.
This has been the biazarro-Vjax year. He seems to have gotten his off-the-field problems in check, but on-the-field he seems merely pedestrian.
Eric Weddle - 8 solo tackles, 1 tackle assist
We've had to say this less recently, but it's never a good sign when a Safety is your team's leading tackler. Paul Oliver wasn't far behind him, either.
Kamerion Wimbley - 7 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 defended pass
How long did it take Norv Turner to realize that Marcus McNeill wasn't out there last night? Also, so much for Norv's theories that Brandyn Dombrowski has a future as a LT. That kid is a Guard and will always be a Guard. With Kris Dielman's shaky head, Tyronne Green (the only guy who might be able to play decently at LT with McNeill down) probably has a few more games before he can fill in. That means there's going to be plenty of plays where Rivers is running away from defenders while Dombrowski or Steve Schilling shake their head in the background.