--P Shane Lechler had another spectacular game, aside from one 38-yard punt. He ended up with a 50.3-yard gross average, 47.3 net and downed two kicks inside the 20-yard line, including one that rolled dead at the San Diego 5-yard line.

--RB Darren McFadden has yet to make the impact as a receiver the Raiders hoped. He has seven receptions for 43 yards in four games.

--WR Johnnie Lee Higgins will be given a chance to push Ronald Curry and Javon Walker for additional playing time during the bye week. The Raiders need his speed on the field to stretch defenses vertically.

--S Tyvon Branch, one of the Raiders' top special teams players, will also be in the mix on kickoff returns when the cast on his broken left thumb is removed before the Raiders' next game following the bye week.

--LB Ricky Brown, a first-time starter, has 15 tackles -- already surpassing his career high of 13 set last year.

REPORT CARD VS. CHARGERS

PASSING OFFENSE: C-plus - The Raiders decided to give JaMarcus Russell a green light, letting him put the ball up 37 times after throwing 62 passes through the first three games. He completed 22 passes for 271 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown pass to Zach Miller. He threw his first interception on his 83rd pass of the season, a bobbled screen by Darren McFadden, and lost his third fumble. Still too many erratic throws and not enough conversions on third down.

RUSHING OFFENSE: D-minus - Gaining 72 yards on 24 carries is not what one expects of a rushing offense that considers itself one of the NFL's best. True, Justin Fargas was out and McFadden was hobbled by turf toe. But zone blocking teams pride themselves on plugging in the next man, and Michael Bush (14 carries, 48 yards), is not chopped liver. The Raiders managed only one rushing first down.

PASS DEFENSE: B-minus - Philip Rivers came into the game the NFL's highest rated passer and had his worst game of the season, completing 14 of 25 passes for 154 yards with a touchdown and interceptions by DeAngelo Hall and Chris Johnson. The Raiders sacked Rivers four times and put good pressure on him for most of the game. Defensive tackle Terdell Sands had two sacks, with one each by Kalimba Edwards and Jay Richardson.

RUSH DEFENSE: B-minus -- The Chargers made virtually no ground until the fourth quarter, then came alive when it counted. Nemesis LaDainian Tomlinson had 31 yards on 13 carries and then had 75 on seven tries and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a 41-yard burst to put the game away. Gibril Wilson stuffed Tomlinson and forced a fumble on a run blitz which resulted in a safety.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B - Only one real mistake -- and it was a big one. After taking an 18-15 lead on Sebastian Janikowski's third field goal of the game, Darren Sproles got loose on a 67-yard kickoff return that enabled the Chargers to get in position to tie the score. Shane Lechler had a 50.3 average on six punts with a 47.3 net. Janikowski's lone miss of the season came on an absurd 76-yard field goal attempt at the end of the half.

COACHING: C-plus - Despite all the speculation about Kiffin's status, the Raiders came out playing hard and with emotion on both sides of the ball. The defensive plan bottled up the Chargers until the fourth quarter and Kiffin's decision to let Russell throw more often paid dividends as well. But the 76-yard field-goal attempt was a strange one. If the Raiders had moved quickly, Russell could have gotten to the line of scrimmage for a 15-yard completion and a more reasonable attempt. A Hail Mary would have been a better option. The Raiders' strategies in the fourth quarter looked like a team playing not to lose instead of playing to win.