Chargers: Best memories from playing in the ‘Black Hole’
By Travis Wakeman
The Los Angeles Chargers will go on the road to face the Oakland Raiders in a key AFC West matchup on Thursday Night Football.
The resurgent Chargers are coming off of their biggest win in some time, pasting the Green Bay Packers last Sunday. But the Raiders have plenty of momentum of their own after outlasting the Detroit Lions last Sunday.
These Thursday night games don’t usually favor the road team. Fortunately for the Chargers, the trip to Oakland is a short one.
That trip to Oakland will be the last one for the Chargers, barring some scenario where both teams make the playoffs and the Raiders host the Chargers in the postseason. That isn’t likely.
That means that after all these years, this will be the last time the Chargers are in the ‘Black Hole’. Sure, the Raiders will likely recreate the ‘Black Hole’ in their new city, Las Vegas, next season, but it won’t be the same.
The Chargers and Raiders have been playing games in Oakland since the early 1960s and have met in the historic Coliseum 46 times. In those 46 games, the Raiders hold a slight 23-22-1 edge in the all-time series.
Before these two teams kick off from the Coliseum one more time, let’s take a look back at some of the best memories from the ‘Black Hole’. Well, good memories if you’re a Chargers fan.
All of these memories came from games the Chargers won in Oakland. If you can remember any from a game the team lost, feel free to add those in the comment section below.
November 22, 1981: Probably the best memory on this list, the Chargers blew the Raiders out 55-21 as Dan Fouts tossed six touchdown passes. Five of those went to Kellen Winslow (and matched just one time since), who tied an NFL record set in 1950 with five touchdown catches in one game.
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October 31, 1993: The Chargers defeated the Raiders 30-23 on Halloween with the biggest play coming in the third quarter, a 102-yard interception return for a touchdown by Donald Frank.
September 25, 1994: A 90-yard punt return for a touchdown by Darrien Gordon helped the Chargers to a 26-24 win over the Raiders. To this day, only one punt return has ever traveled more distance in team history, a 95-yard return by Speedy Duncan way back in 1968.
September 22, 1996: Tony Martin helps the Chargers win a shootout 40-34, catching 10 passes for 138 yards and three touchdowns.
October 20, 2002: LaDainian Tomlinson wins the game in overtime, running in a 19-yard touchdown to give the Chargers a 27-21 sudden death victory.
September 11, 2006: The Chargers began the 2006 season with a 27-0 shutout of the Raiders. The defense racked up nine sacks against Oakland quarterbacks Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter.