SAN DIEGO – The Raiders ceased being the kings of the AFC West years ago.
But last season, the Raiders began erasing some dubious distinctions within their division, ending a 17-game losing streak to AFC West teams. They beat two of three division foes at least once – Denver and Kansas City – and have repeated the feat this season.
But the Raiders still haven't conquered the Chargers, who have beaten them 10 consecutive times. The Raiders last defeated San Diego on Sept. 28, 2003 in Oakland – a 34-31 overtime win.
Only seven players remain on the Raiders' roster from that win over the Chargers. A victory tonight would give the Raiders wins against all three division opponents for the first time since 2002.
"I know it would be significant to the players that have been around for a while," interim coach Tom Cable said. "I've actually heard them talk about that scenario … and how important that would be to them."
If the Raiders beat San Diego, all three victories against their AFC West rivals would have come on the road. Oakland hasn't swept the division on the road since the AFC West became a four-team race again in 2002. One must go back to 1974 to find the last time the Raiders did that.
The Chargers have beaten the Raiders so much partly because they've been able to do things Oakland hasn't done consistently on the field.
"It's been us being disciplined, being efficient on offense, taking care of the ball and doing our own job," Chargers tight end Antonio Gates said.
The Raiders failed to do that for four quarters in their first game against the Chargers this season. Oakland blew a 15-0 halftime lead and gave up 25 fourth-quarter points as San Diego pulled away for a 28-18 win in Week 4.
"You try not to look back at what's happened in the past," said running back Justin Fargas, who returned five kickoffs in the Raiders' 2003 win over the Chargers. "It's a new team, and we're just trying to find a way to win this game and let the things that happened in the past be gone."
Fargas said one way to let the past fade away would be to finally beat the Chargers.
Fargas was a rookie in 2003 as was cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. The two have won only five division games in six seasons.
"You want to win every game, especially against your division opponents, there's a little extra incentive," Fargas said. "The Chargers, we haven't beat them in so long, I think it would be a good thing for this team to go down to their house and get a win."
Read Jason Jones' Raiders blog at www.sacbee.com/ raidersblog.
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