Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh has honest response to questionable Raiders punt

The LA Chargers won a gritty game over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday to officially move to 1-0 on the season. It was not always pretty, but the Chargers got better at the game went along and peaked at the right time to punch the Raiders in the mouth and get revenge for last season's 63-21 drubbing.

Las Vegas did everything it could to give this game away, highlighted by a questionable coaching decision late in the fourth quarter that sealed the deal. Facing a fourth and one from the Chargers' 43-yard line with 7:15 left in the game, the Raiders decided to punt the ball away to gain marginal field position.

Statistically, the punt was one of the most timid in NFL history and opened the door for the Chargers to put the game on ice. Los Angeles drove down the field and scored a touchdown to make it a two-possession game. With less than four minutes left and no timeouts, the Raiders were dead.

It was certainly a head-scratching decision that Chargers fans are happy the Raiders made. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was asked about the punt after the game, to which he explained his thought process behind Antonio Pierce's decision.

Jim Harbaugh wasn't surprised by Raiders' shocking decision to punt to Chargers

This is both a testament to Jesse Minter's defense as well as an honest admission about how the offense played. The Chargers' defense shut down the Raiders on a fourth-and-one attempt earlier in the game and that was definitely weighing on Pierce's mind when he made the decision.

The Chargers offense was also struggling to get anything consistent going against the Raiders, which also factored into the decision. Pierce was confident he could punt the ball away and force another quick stop to get the ball back.

This obviously was not by design as in a perfect world, the Chargers would have been scoring every single drive against the Raiders. But this still highlights the excellence that is a Harbaugh-coached team.

The Chargers' offense (rightfully) lulled the Raiders to sleep, giving the team a false sense of security to punt the ball away in a situation that made no sense whatsoever. And just like every well-coached team does, the Chargers responded by peaking at the right time to march down the field with a touchdown drive.

There is no guarantee the Raiders would have converted that first down and the result may have ultimately been the same. But by rolling over, the Raiders played not to lose instead of playing to win.

As history tells us, you cannot do that against a Harbaugh-coached team. Week 1 was just another reminder of that.