By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer

OAKLAND, Calif.(AP) -- Philip Rivers walked into the huddle
unfazed by another fourth-quarter deficit and poised to prove
why the San Diego Chargers made him their $93 million man.

Rivers answered a pair of go-ahead scores by Oakland by leading
two touchdown drives and Darren Sproles scored the game-winner
on a 5-yard run with 18 seconds left to give the Chargers their
12th straight victory over the Raiders, 24-20 Monday night.

This might have been the toughest one of the bunch. JaMarcus
Russell had given Oakland a 20-17 lead with a 57-yard touchdown
pass to rookie Louis Murphy with 2:34 left. But despite having
two backup linemen in the game, Rivers calmly led the Chargers
down the field for the winning score.

"One thing I know is no team in this league can practice
2-minute situations as much as we do," Rivers said. "It's a
little different executing it on Murphy Canyon Road as it is in
Oakland. ... I said: 'Well, we've done this a million times,
let's go score. All we need is three."'

Rivers was six for seven for 79 yards on the winning drive
before Sproles silenced the crowd with his run up the middle.
This marked the Raiders' 11th straight loss in prime time and
perhaps the most painful, considering how close they came.

Raiders offensive lineman Cornell Green let out Oakland's
frustration with an expletive-laden outburst as he left the
field, screaming that the Chargers got lucky to win.

"Our football team played its guts out and didn't finish the
game," coach Tom Cable said. "That's the bottom line."

They took a 13-10 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 35-yard
field goal by Sebastian Janikowski before Rivers drove the
Chargers down and gave them the lead with a 15-yard touchdown
pass to Vincent Jackson. Then Russell's fourth-down pass to
Murphy looked as if it would provide an emphatic end to a pair
of losing streaks. Instead, it was just a footnote to Oakland's
league-worst 73rd loss since the start of the 2003 season.

The Chargers offense looked overmatched for much of the night
against newly acquired Richard Seymour and the Raiders defense.
Injuries to center Nick Hardwick and guard Louis Vasquez in the
third quarter made moving the ball even tougher for San Diego
and the frustration led Rivers to commit a personal foul that
thwarted one drive.

But the two last drives were the reason why the Chargers gave
Rivers the big six-year contract extension with $38 million
guaranteed last month. He finished 24 for 36 for 252 yards,
playing his best when it counted most.

"People talk about quarterbacks that handle pressure, that
respond and lead their teams from behind," Chargers coach Norv
Turner said. "He's done it continuously and he's done it in some
real difficult situations like tonight. It's great to get the
win here."

Russell nearly had overcome a rough night with that one pass to
Murphy. Russell was 12 for 30 for 208 yards and two
interceptions, including one on a desperation heave following
Sproles' TD.

Oakland got a big boost from Seymour, who arrived from New
England two days ago and didn't even go through a full practice
with his new team. He sacked Rivers twice in the first half and
helped Oakland keep longtime nemesis LaDainian Tomlinson in
check.

Tomlinson, who averaged 119 yards rushing per game against
Oakland coming into the game, managed only 55 on 13 carries and
rolled his ankle. But Sproles helped out with two long kickoff
returns, five catches for 43 yards and the winning touchdown.

"It was like two completely different games with what we did in
the beginning and those last two drives," Raiders Pro Bowl
cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha said. "We were good with the run and
good with the pass and then in the fourth quarter we had a
couple of breakdowns. That's what hurt us."

The Raiders dominated the play in the first half, outgaining the
Chargers 217-74, but were still tied at 10 because of two
turnovers, and a replay review that went against Oakland.

With the offensive line creating big holes, Darren McFadden and
Michael Bush ran the ball down the field on the opening drive
before Russell threw an interception from the San Diego 25 to
Quentin Jammer.

The Raiders finished the job on the second drive, getting a
30-yard pass from Russell to Zach Miller to set up Bush's 4-yard
run. McFadden fumbled on the next drive, setting up Tomlinson's
1-yard run to tie it, his 20th career rushing touchdown against
Oakland.

Oakland was on the wrong end of a replay review at the end of
the half, when an apparent 19-yard touchdown pass to Murphy was
overturned because the ball came loose as he hit the ground.
Oakland settled for a 37-yard field goal by Janikowski with 40
seconds left.

"By definition in our rule book, he's going to the ground and
has to maintain possession of the ball throughout the entire act
of the catch," referee Carl Cheffers told a pool reporter. "And
in this case, he lost possession and the ball hit the ground.
Therefore, it's incomplete."

Sproles returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards, setting up Nate
Kaeding's 47-yard field goal on the final play of the half.

NOTES: Tomlinson's lost fumble in the first quarter was his
first since Oct. 22, 2006, against Kansas City. ... Former
first-round pick Michael Huff had an INT and a fumble recovery
for Oakland, matching his total from his first three seasons.