SAN DIEGO (AP) - Vincent Brown and Jacob Hester caught touchdown passes from Philip Rivers as the San Diego Chargers rallied to trail the Oakland Raiders 24-17 after three quarters Thursday night.
Hester scored three plays after the Chargers had an apparent touchdown overruled. Rivers hit Brown in the left corner of the end zone with Lito Sheppard covering him tightly. But the referees ruled there was no catch because Sheppard had his hand on the ball when he landed out of bounds.
Hester then caught a 7-yard pass to make it 24-17 as the period ended.
On the previous possession, San Diego had recovered the ball after Carson Palmer was sacked at the 43-yard line and he fumbled when Antwan Barnes went to wrap his arms around Palmer. He hit the quarterback’s arm and Corey Liuget recovered. The Raiders were unsuccessful in challenging the call.
Chargers kicker Nick Novak missed a 46-yard field goal wide right, his second miss of the season after going 17 of 18.
Oakland extended its lead to 24-10 on Denarius Moore’s 26-yard TD catch with Quentin Jammer in close pursuit at 9:01.
After getting sacked to end the first half, Rivers found Brown on a 30-yard TD pass that Brown hauled in with two defenders grabbing at his right arm before they all collapsed in the end zone. Rivers had five completions on the drive after having just four in the first half. He was 12 for 18 for 145 yards in the third.
San Diego inside linebacker Takeo Spikes sustained a concussion late in the first half and didn’t return. Chargers guard Louis Vasquez injured his ankle and was doubtful to return.
Moore caught a 33-yard pass from Palmer with 1:51 remaining in the second quarter, extending the Raiders’ lead to 17-3.
Palmer engineered a two-play, 31-second drive, capped by Moore’s catch near the goal line after outrunning two defenders as the Raiders tried to end a two-game losing skid.
Palmer was 8 for 10 with 169 yards in the first half, when the Raiders racked up 293 yards of total offense to 65 for San Diego, which has lost three in a row.
The bumbling Chargers managed just three first downs in the half. Rivers was 4 for 11 with 44 yards and got sacked three times. They had four consecutive three-and-out drives before Rivers was sacked on San Diego’s final possession of the half.
Michael Bush scored Oakland’s first TD on a 2-yard plunge in the first quarter, giving them a 7-3 lead. He had 17 carries for 86 yards in the half. Moore had three catches for 86 yards.
The Raiders got off to a slow start behind Palmer, with their first two possessions ending in a punt and a turnover on downs in his second start and third appearance since joining the team.
Novak kicked a 20-yard field goal for the Chargers.
Oakland wide receiver Jacoby Ford sustained a foot injury on the Raiders’ first TD drive. He was helped off the field and was questionable to return.
Chargers left tackle Marcus McNeill, who already had a neck injury, sustained a stinger on San Diego’s second possession. He was carted off and was doubtful to return.
Both teams were playing on short rest, each having lost Sunday.
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