Raiders Beat Chargers, Take Over First In AFC West

The Oakland Raiders went on the road to San Diego and beat the Chargers 24-17 last night in the debut of Thursday Night Football.

It was a much-needed win for the Raiders after dropping two straight games within the division to the Chiefs and Broncos.

The win moved the Raiders into sole possession of first place in the AFC West. Oakland is now 5-4.

More after the jump.

The Chargers, on the other hand, continue to slide after starting the season 4-1. The Bolts have now lost four straight games to the Jets, Chiefs, Packers and Raiders. The Chargers now sit at 4-5.

If the Chiefs can beat the Broncos on Sunday, then Kansas City will join Oakland in first place. If KC should fall however, Denver will move into a three-way tie with the Chiefs and Chargers at 4-5.

The Raiders looked much better this week with Carson Palmer at QB. He hit the speedy Oakland receivers on a number of accurately thrown deep balls, and the Oakland running game was explosive despite not having Darren McFadden.

If Oakland continues to improve with Palmer at the helm, the Chiefs had better get their own issues sorted out fast or they could start losing ground in the division race.