Opposing defenses are learning that Austin Ekeler is just

CARSON Brandon Mebane Color Rush Jersey , Calif. (AP) —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,” 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 Michael Schofield Color Rush Jersey , 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, 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 Tyrell Williams Color Rush Jersey , 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, 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 Derek Watt Color Rush Jersey , 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. The Chargers could use a shot of length and athleticism along the interior."For what seems like ages now, the Chargers have trotted out a defensive interior with players that I always felt were too short or just plain ‘tweeners.Tenny Palepoi, Damion Square, Darius Philon.Although Square and Philon have improved mightily over the last two seasons, they still don’t leave me with a sense of content when I think about the defensive front four.Square is listed as a defensive tackle and can play some end as we saw when he took over the “big end” spot for a few games leading up to Joey Bosa’s return. He is listed at 6-foot-2, 295 pounds.Philon is a 6-foot-1, 300-pound defensive tackle who has been jockeying for starting position at the 3-technique while Corey Liuget has struggled with injuries and suspensions. He showed some disruptive tendencies in 2018 and was one of the most consistent linementhe Chargers had. Still, not someone I would want in the starting lineup if I had a choice.Brandon Mebane, as great as he once was Travis Benjamin Color Rush Jersey , is getting up there. He offers no pass-rush potential and is nowhere near the lane-clogger that the teamIt’s time the Chargers looked for a larger, more intimidating presence in the middle of their defense. One with a multitude of talents that fits like a glove in the versatile defense that Gus Bradley loves to utilize.Enter Jerry Tillery. A sky-high tower of a man that should be the first one off the bus on every road trip. At 6-foot-7 and 305 pounds, Tillery instantly becomes the tallest on the team while taking up the mantle as most athletic interior defensive linemen.After a season that saw defensive tackles break out in spectacular fashion, the flow of the NFL is starting to lean towards the value of disruptive and explosive interior linemen. Everyone used to want the next Von Miller. Now, they want the next Aaron Donald or Chris Jones.That is exactly who Tillery can be.Tillery came to South Bend by way of Louisiana where he was a First-Team All-State selection at the 3A level as an offensive tackle. He was rated the 126th-best player by Rivals.com and was their 11th-ranked tackle prospect. ESPN had him as their 280th-best prospect while being named their 30th-ranked offensive tackle.He wound up playing defensive line and found himself playing in 12 games during his true freshmen year in 2015, starting three. He had 12 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, and a single sack.In the following year, Tillery played in all 12 games again while starting 11. He recorded 37 tackles with just with three for a loss. In 2017, his true junior season, Tillery took a giant leap forward in becoming the dominant force that he was this past season.As a whole, the Irish defense jump 20 spots in in a multitude of defensive categories and Tillery was a big part of it. He totaled 56 tackles to go along with nine for a loss (third on team, tops for DL) Keenan Allen Color Rush Jersey , 4.5 sacks (led team), and a forced fumble.It was in 2018, however, that Tillery really started to make some noise and get his draft stock meter rising. The senior made 30 total stop this past season. over a third of them for a loss (10.5) and led the team with eight sacks. His best game came against the Stanford Cardinal where he collected four sacks and forced a fumble. He was named the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week, Bronco Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week and Reese’s Senior Bowl Senior of the Week for his efforts.He was invited to the Reese’s Senior but unfortunately declined the chance to play in Mobile.In the graphic above, you can see the steady rise in Tillery’s performance over the last few years. His overall grade of 91.5 was elite and good for sixth-best among interior defenders. His pass rush grade was tied for first while his pass-rush productivity rating was good for fourth. Unfortunately, is run-stopping grade has improved yet still remains in the bottom part of the rankings.His length and motor would allow him to play almost anywhere along the line while his burst off the line of scrimmage would cause linemen to scurry and break duties while not trying to get whipped off the snap.He has a type of hustle that coaches covet. Most of his big plays were the result of simply not giving up when the going got tough. His best, obviously, is his motor. However, the development that he has shown over the years will need to continue to become an every-down player, but the upside is very, very apparent.