Opposing defenses are learning that Austin Ekeler is just as effective a running back as Melvin Gordon for the Los Angeles Chargers.The second-year running back scored his third touchdown of the season on a 44-yard swing pass from Philip Rivers to lead the Chargers to a 26-10 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.“He’s got some juice now. He can really run Derwin James Color Rush Jersey ,” Rivers said. “I think he’s one of those, you don’t realize how fast he is running until you have to chase him, which I never have, but I’ve seen a lot of guys do it. That was impressive.”Ekeler, signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017, made two Oakland defenders miss at the Raiders 40, got a block from Keenan Allen and then went up the left sideline, putting the Chargers ahead for good.“Moves into open space, that’s how you can make your money in this league as a running back,” Ekeler said. “That’s where I think I excel and what I’m going to keep doing, winning one-on-ones.”Ekeler has 410 yards from scrimmage, with 207 coming via receptions. He has six touchdowns in his career and is three away from tying Dan Reeves for most TD catches by an undrafted player in his first two years in the league. Reeves had nine with Dallas 1965-66.“You wish we would have signed him. He’s running hard, he’s making people miss,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “He has the flexibility to line up in the backfield or in the slot. He’s a sharp customer who knows how to play the game.”Ekeler and Gordon are averaging 201 yards from scrimmage for the Chargers. Gordon is third among NFL running backs at 119 yards per game, and Ekeler is 12th at 82.Gordon had 120 yards from scrimmage against the Raiders (58 rushing, 62 receiving), including a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to put the Chargers up 17-3.Rivers was 22 of 27 for 339 yards with two touchdowns and a 143.4 passer rating. He completed passes to seven players Jahleel Addae Color Rush Jersey , but as he noted, no one had a big yardage day.“It wasn’t an eight-catch, 150-yard day for anybody, but you look up and there’s 330 yards passing and a lot of guys touched the ball,” Rivers said. “It was efficient. We ran it well enough and we didn’t turn it over. When you do that you have a good chance for a win.”Here are some other things to know from Sunday’s Raiders-Chargers game:STURGIS’ FUTURE IN DOUBT?The Chargers signed punter Donnie Jones last Tuesday to also be the holder on field goals and extra points, thinking that it would help solve Caleb Sturgis‘ struggles. If the results of one game are any indication, it hasn’t.Sturgis made two field goals, but he also missed his fourth extra point of the season and was wide left on a 48-yard attempt on the last play of the first half.The sixth-year kicker has missed four extra points this season, equaling the amount he had over three seasons in Philadelphia from 2015-17.“The extra point did bother me a little bit, but we’ll figure out what happened there,” said Chargers coach Anthony Lynn when asked about Sturgis’ struggles. “He’s been kicking with a lot of confidence, so I’m not concerned about it.”ON THE LINEThe Raiders had a pair of rookie tackles starting in a game for the first time since the 1970 merger, with Kolton Miller at left tackle and Brandon Parker on the right side. Oakland allowed three sacks, but quarterback Derek Carr wasn’t ready to single them out.“I thought they played really well for it being a tough environment for them, against a great blitz package,” Carr said. “Everyone has plays. It’s easier to just find, ‘Ah Russell Okung Color Rush Jersey , rookie offensive tackle, let’s blame him.”COSTLY MISTAKEOakland was putting together a nice drive during the third quarter and got to the Chargers’ 1 before Derek Carr threw an interception to Melvin Imgram in the end zone. A touchdown would have brought the Raiders within 10 with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter, but it basically ended all hopes for a comeback.Carr has more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (seven) after the first five games in Gruden’s offense. Gruden says that the fifth-year quarterback is progressing, but Carr admitted after the game that he needs to quit pressing.“Those are the kinds of things where with my aggressiveness and his aggressiveness, we are learning and he does a great job communicating with me after stuff like that,” Carr said. “He doesn’t want me to stop being aggressive, but at the same time not forcing them, not pressing and sometimes to not make too many plays.”LONDON CALLINGBoth teams have “home” games at London’s Wembley Stadium the next two weeks. The Raiders will face the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday, while the Chargers take on the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 21.Oakland will practice at its facility before flying to London later in the week. Los Angeles will stay in Cleveland for four days after facing the Browns next Sunday before making the trip abroad.___Follow Joe Reedy at wwwtwitter.com/joereedy___ The Chargers amazing come from behind victory against the AFC West leading Chiefs in Kansas City has been over for less than 20 minutes...which means it’s the perfect time to throw down some hot taeks while I’m high on the win.Philip Rivers is your new leader for MVPPatrick Mahomes is having an absurdly amazing season. He can do things from the QB position that are so rare, it’s hard to say I’ve seen anything like it. He is most certainly the league’s Offensive Player of the Year. But Philip Rivers is the MVP. Mahomes was without Sammy Watkins and has been without Kareem Hunt for 2 weeks after he was suspended by the league, and they got taken to overtime by the Baltimore Ravens, then lost at home, with probably a top 3 home field advantage in the NFL. Rivers has been without Melvin Gordon multiple times this season, including on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers and here on the road against the Chiefs. He was without Keenan Allen for almost the entire game tonight. He has an inferior offensive line compared to what the Chiefs have. And what did Rivers do? He won. From behind. Both times. Not to mention Rivers hasn’t had a real “home game” in 2 years. It doesn’t matter who’s running routes, or who’s blocking in front of him this year. Rivers just has this team winning games. Rivers is your MVP. I never doubted Mike WilliamsOk, not really. But he is making me into one hell of a believer. Keenan Allen went down early tonight and Mike Williams stepped up exactly how you would expect from a guy drafted 7th overall. He was attacking the ball at the highest point, he was making great catches Junior Seau Color Rush Jersey , he was running good routes, he was using his size and strength to bully defenders both before and after the catch. He wound up with 8 touches for 95 total yards and 3 total touchdowns. We all hope Keenan Allen winds up being ok, but Mike Williams just completely picked up the slack and probably more importantly, just established a TON of trust and confidence between himself and Rivers. The road to the Super Bowl is going to go through a 27k seat Soccer StadiumThe Chargers still need to win their last 2 games, and the Chiefs still need to lose one more (either on the road in Seattle or at home against the Raiders), but it could happen. For all of you that are still bitter from the move, I don’t know how you can’t root for that to happen. Think about how satisfying it will be to see Dean and the League embarrassed when they are forced to host at least one, and probably 2 playoff games, including an AFC Championship, in a stadium that seats less than 30k fans. Or possibly more embarrassing, force the Chargers to play “home” playoff games in a different stadium so they can sell more tickets. Or if you’re still just a fan of the Chargers, how amazing is it that the Chargers can now realistically taste the division championship and #1 seed. This Defense is ELITEThe Chargers defense, without either of the 2 interior defensive linemen projected to start before the season (Corey Liuget and Brandon Mebane), without Denzel Perryman at LB, and without Trevor Williams who started the season as CB2, just held the #1 offense in the NFL to under 300 Net Yards of offense and 28 points. Kansas City had been averaging 437.5 yards of offense and 36.2 points per game this season. Patrick Mahomes has only been held to less than 260 yards passing 3 times this season. 2 of those times were by this Chargers defense. This defense could still use a replacement for Jahleel Addae, a true NT Desmond King Color Rush Jersey , and maybe some help at ILB (although getting Kyzir White back could be at least a large part of that answer), and another solid corner. But even with that being the case, this Defense is putting the Chargers in position to win games time and time again. Chargers don’t have an RB2They have RB1, RB1A, RB1B, and RB1C. Melvin Gordon, Austin Ekeler, Justin Jackson, and Detrez Newsome are all starting quality running backs. Obviously Melvin Gordon is having an amazing season and has definitely established himself as the RB1 on this team. But the 3 guys behind him are all so capable, and versatile, that the offense doesn’t have to panic if Gordon isn’t available for a few weeks during the season. Yes it definitely helps that Rivers is playing like the league MVP this season, and that the defense is playing at an elite level. But you have to give Tom Telesco and his staff credit for finding this stable of backs, and Anthony Lynn and his staff for recognizing what they have in these guys and keeping them around.