San Diego Chargers: 3 takeaways from week 16

What we learned about the Chargers:

1. Wide receiver Dontrelle Inman can do double duty at safety. The Chargers' secondary was so depleted by injuries that Inman had to help out in the defensive backfield during overtime Thursday. "Last time I played defense in a game was high school, safety and corner," Inman said. "This was just one where we were going on the fly. When guys do down, someone's got to step up. We've got to use everyone we've got. We never practiced that, though, in terms of who was going to be out there. They just said, 'We need somebody,' so I said, 'If you need me, I'm ready to go.' Just let me know what you need me to do.'" In his regular job, Inman started for the injured Stevie Johnson and caught eight passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.

2. San Diego can't shake its habit of being on the wrong side of close games. The Chargers (4-11) lost 23-20 in overtime to the Raiders. Of their 11 losses, eight were by eight or fewer points, and five were by five or fewer points. "It's been the story of the year, just losing close games," Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. "Doesn't make it any easier losing another one like that. But one more game before we reload. We were right there and had our chances but didn't get it done."

3. The defense looks nothing like one you expect from a 4-11 team. The Chargers held Oakland to 283 total yards and 23 points in an overtime game. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed only 23 of 38 passes for 204 yards, was sacked three times and had a passer rating of 72.7. In the Chargers' past four games, they allowed an average of 16.0 points. However, San Diego won only one of those four games because it scored just three points twice and more than 20 once.

PLAYER NOTES

--QB Philip Rivers completed 31 of 49 passes for 277 yards and one touchdown Thursday night in a 23-20 overtime loss to Oakland at the O.co Coliseum. Rivers fell to 14-6 all-time against the Raiders and 4-3 in Thursday night games.

--OLB Melvin Ingram had one sack Thursday night against Oakland, giving him a team-high nine for the season. Ingram had a career-high 2 1/2 sacks the previous week in a victory against Miami.

--CB Jason Verrett (hamstring) was injured in the second quarter Thursday night against Oakland and did not return to the game. Verrett, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and was a Raiders fan, had one tackle before exiting the game. He leads the Chargers with three interceptions.

--FS Eric Weddle sustained a groin injury in the second quarter and did not return to the game Thursday against Oakland. Weddle finished with two tackles.