2023 NFL season, Week 15: What We Learned from Raiders' win over Chargers on Thursday night

1) Aidan O'Connell, Raiders deliver first-half statement. Coming off one of the worst offensive performances of the season Sunday in a 3-0 loss at home to the Vikings, the Raiders didn't exactly inspire a lot of scoring confidence coming into Thursday night. But Aidan O'Connell broke out of his slump, and the team ended up with a franchise-record 63 points. Go figure. On the opening drive, O'Connell led Las Vegas to its first offensive touchdown in 20 possessions, ending up with four first-half TD passes. He misfired on a few balls early but settled in nicely, delivering two pretty deep-ball TDs to Tre Tucker and Jakobi Meyers, putting them up, 21-0, in the first quarter. O'Connell had time to throw, thanks to his offensive line, and receivers were seemingly open all night. By mid-second quarter, the Raiders surpassed last week's yardage total (203). It's easier to score when your opponent loses the first-half turnover battle 3-0 (4-0 if you count the fourth-down stop), but racking up 49 points in 34 minutes was a bolt out of the blue. Vegas had scored 46 combined in the previous three games. This was a good night for O'Connell.

2) Chargers turn in awful showing as spotlight turns to Brandon Staley. The season-ending finger injury to Justin Herbert was the latest devastating turn for the Chargers' season – and then Thursday happened. The 63 points allowed Thursday were a franchise-worst for the Chargers, whose season has now completely cratered. Almost right out of the gates, it was clear that the Raiders had some gas in the tank after a tough loss Sunday, but the Chargers appeared to be lifeless after taking a few early blows. The Raiders scored on their first three possessions, two of them set up by fumble recoveries.