Raiders counted on big year from Chandler Jones. He finally put up big numbers vs. Chargers

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr heaped praise on the Las Vegas defense after a 27-20 victory over the Chargers on Sunday.

It was all led by defensive end Chandler Jones who finished the game sacking Justin Herbert three times. He finished with six tackles, two tackles for loss, five quarterback hits and one pass deflection.

“I just know it’s a relief for him,” Carr said. “The way he’s been playing the run this year has been unbelievable. The way he sets the edge. There’s a lot more than a stat like a touchdown or a sack. He’s played really good football. Obviously as a pass rusher, you want sacks. You want to get the ball out. I know there was some kind of relief there, but it’s not like he’s playing bad football. We have two good rushers on the outside and people chip them all the time and do different things. To see that kind of break free for him today, it was really cool.”

The Raiders signed Jones to a three-year, $51 million contract in the offseason after he spent the past six seasons with the Cardinals.

He only had 1/2 sack going into the Chargers game.

He provided the spark on defense for the Raiders (5-7) that only allowed one touchdown and had 14 quarterback hits against the Chargers.

“We were a little bit more aggressive,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “(Defensive coordinator) Pat (Graham) really called a good game. I thought the defensive staff did a nice job putting together a plan and keep them off balance a little bit. Went after them a little bit in the blitz game.”

The Raiders’ defense was productive early and often. Raiders safety Duron Harmon forced a fumble that was recovered by Nate Hobbs.

Las Vegas turned that into points when Carr connected with Davante Adams on a 31-yard touchdown early in the third quarter that gave the Raiders a 17-10 lead.

Jones said it’s not about stats.

“My main focus is winning,” Jones said. “The sky is the limit for our defense and our defensive line. When you play this profession, you have to understand that the other team is a professional team too and you’ll never have a perfect game. We’re going to go watch the film and see what we could have done better, and actually highlight the things we did well and hopefully we can capitalize on it and carry it over into the L.A. Rams.”

The Raiders play the Rams on Thursday from SoFi Stadium.