The Oakland Raiders lost their season-opening game to the San Diego Chargers on Monday night, and suffered a couple of injuries along the way. Raiders' long snapper Jon Condo left the game with a head injury, while cornerback Ron Bartell had to leave with an injured shoulder.
Condo's injury may have been the most damaging to the Raiders on Monday, as a number of special teams miscues proved too much to overcome. Levi Damien of Silver and Black Pride highlighted the impact of Condo leaving the game:
Taking Condo's place at long snapper was reserve middle linebacker, Travis Goethel. That turned out to be a choice that would doom the Raiders and turn this game into an absolute debacle.
Goethel had three snaps and only [one] of them was successful punt.. barely. The first punt was low causing Lechler to not be able to field it cleanly and he didn't get the punt away. The second was a flat out block thanks to a snap that was slow and wobbly. The third, he barely got away without it being blocked again. And the final punt was skipped across the ground resulting in Lechler not getting ahold of it and him falling on the ball.
San Diego was more fortunate on Monday, as none of its players left the game for good. Tight end Antonio Gates was kept out the contest for a time with an injury to his ribs, but was able to return.
For more information of Raiders football, head on over to Silver and Black Pride. To discuss more about Chargers football and their victory to Oakland, pay a visit to Bolts From The Blue.
