Ekeler is just 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 Joe Barksdale Jersey ," 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, 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, 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, we are learning and he does a great job communicating with me after stuff like that Authentic Casey Hayward Jersey ," 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.Follow Joe Reedy at joereedyA Way, Way Too Early Chargers 53 Man Roster Prediction The 2018 NFL Draft and initial Undrafted Free Agent signings are less than 72 hours old, so naturally, we should look into our crystal balls and try to predict the future and forecast who’s going to make the 53 man roster to start the season. Some big names are already gone from last year. Tre Boston at Safety, Antonio Gates at Tight End, Kenny Wiggins is gone at Guard. Then obviously the Chargers had 7 draft picks this year. So here we go:Offense - 24Quarterback - 2Philip Rivers, Cardale JonesObviously, Rivers is making the roster. After him, Cardale Jones, Geno Smith, and UDFA Nic Schimonek will battle it out. Based on Cardale’s experience with this coaching staff and his semi-promising performance last pre-season, I think he wins the backup job.Running Back - 3Melvin Gordon, Austin Ekeler, Justin JacksonMelvin Gordon is a lock. Austin Ekeler more than earned a roster spot with his performance last year and based on his Instagram videos from the gym he wants to be even better. Now the team got a steal in the 7th round with Northwestern RB Justin Jackson. Jackson was a prolific performer in college and on tape shows some good traits as a blocker and pass catcher. This is a pretty good stable of running backs and for the first time in a few years have more than just 2 good options.Fullback - 1Derek WattWatt is probably going to stay on the roster, and if he continues to improve like he did last year, he deserves it. He still isn’t great, however, he did improve last year and started making blocks on a slightly more consistent basis as well as developing into a pretty good special teams player. However, the Chargers did sign a UDFA, Anthony Manzo-Lewis, who looks like a fantastic blocker, a much better pass catcher than Watt, and has more beef to throw around at 257 lbs (vs 234 for Watt). This could wind up being a battle in camp.Tight End - 3Hunter Henry, Virgil Green, Sean CulkinNow, this is a different lineup from years past. Gone is future Hall of Famer Antonio Gates, gone is Sean McGrath. Hunter Henry is finally going to take over as the featured TE in this offense and the Chargers will be better for it. The team also signed free agent, and former Denver Bronco, TE Virgil Green who is a very good blocker from the TE spot. That brings us to Sean Culkin who I thought should have made the roster last year. In the pre-season, he looked better at FB than Derek Watt and better at TE than Sean McGrath. I think Culkin offers some good versatility as an H-Back guy who can contribute in a few ways.Offensive Line - 9Russell Okung, Dan Feeney, Mike Pouncey, Forrest Lamp, Joseph Barksdale, Michael Schofield, Scott Quessenberry Youth Melvin Ingram Jersey , Sam Tevi, Spencer PulleyThis is a solid OL. Actually, it is the best OL group the Chargers have put together in a very long time. The starting group of Okung, Feeney, Pouncey, Lamp, Barksdale is going to be fun. Those interior 3 are all strong and athletic and perfect for Anthony Lynn’s style of offense. Okung is solid and I hope that maybe after getting some extra mental help this offseason, as well as upgrading the play next to him from Kenny Wiggins to Forrest Lamp, that Joe Barksdale will improve as well. Behind the starters, Sam Tevi showed a lot of promise last year filling in at swing Tackle and has earned a spot. The other 3 players all offer versatility. Schofield can play G or T, and both Pulley and Quessenberry can play G or C. Both Pulley and Schofield have good starting experience as well. This is pretty solid depth, unlike previous years. Wide Receiver - 6Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams, Mike Williams, Travis Benjamin, Dylan Cantrell, Geremy DavisThe first 4 are locks and a solid group. Mike Williams needs to show improvement, however, he’ll have a full offseason to workout and practice with the team this year, which should help. Cantrell was a 6th round pick and is going to make the roster. Not only does he make contested catches better than most of the other WR’s on the roster, he is already the best blocker at WR on the roster, AND he plays special teams well, AND he can play H-Back. As for Geremy Davis, the coaching staff seems to like him a lot and he hasn’t played poorly at really any point that I’ve seen, so he should make it. Defense - 26Defensive Line - 9 (10)Joey Bosa, Brandon Mebane, Justin Jones, Melvin Ingram, Darius Philon, Damion Square, Issac Rochelle, Steven Richardson, Chris Landrum, (Corey Liuget)Starting with Liuget, he’s on the roster but has a 4 game suspension, so he won’t count against the 53. Justin Jones is likely penciled in Liuget’s spot, however, Philon is going to push to start there while Liuget is out. Here is the first UDFA I see with a real chance to make it in Steven Richardson. He is very stout and I thought on tape he played better than fellow UDFA DT Bijhon Jackson. Linebacker - 8Denzel Perryman, Jatavis Brown http://www.chargersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-brandon-mebane-jersey , Uchenna Nwosu, Kyzir White, Nick Dzubnar, Hayes Pullard, Kyle Emanuel, James OnwualuThe Chargers added 2 LBs in the first 4 rounds of the draft that will have an immediate impact. Nwosu and White will get significant snaps right away. The team is still in love with Hayes Pullard so I’m pretty sure he stays, as well as Kyle Emanuel. Dzubnar, while not providing value as an LB, lead the NFL in special teams tackles last year so he stays as well. The final spot on my defense comes down to Onwualu or the second UDFA that I think might make the roster at CB, I’ll talk about them in a second. Onwualu is a very good special teamer as well, and the Chargers need to keep their best special teams players around.Cornerback - 5Casey Hayward, Trevor Williams, Desmond King, Jason Verrett, Michael DavisWhat a fantastic top 4 CBs. If Jason Verrett is healthy, it’s almost too crowded, but that’s a great problem to have. I think Michael Davis might finally pass Craig Mager and make him expendable. Mager is in the last year of his contract and none of his $705k price tag is guaranteed. Now the UDFA I mentioned in the LB section. There are actually 2 of them, depending on what the team wants. Tony Brown from Alabama is extremely fast, the fastest CB at the combine in fact, and very aggressive, not to mention bringing all the high-level experience an Alabama player brings. The other is VT CB Brandon Facyson. Facyson is a big corner at 6’2” 203lbs and is a fantastic pass defender, with 44 PD in 47 games played. I think both of them will push hard for a roster spot. Safety - 4Jahleel Addae, Derwin James, Rayshawn Jenkins, Adrian PhillipsThis group remains largely the same, however, they’ve traded Tre Boston for Derwin James. James was a missing piece in this secondary. The team will miss Boston’s center field ability, however, they should be able to figure that out, especially with this CB group. What they have done is MASSIVELY upgrade their over the middle and in the box ability with Derwin James. I will be interesting to see who they have playing the FS role, I don’t like Jenkins or Phillips in that role with what I’ve seen from them, I’ve also seen rumors that they may try Des King there, however, I like him up near the LOS. We’ll see how this works out but I think the secondary is still massively improved with the addition of James.Special Teams - 3Kicker - 1Caleb SturgisUntil Robert Aguayo can prove he won’t fail, the safer bet is to assume he will fail. Sturgis is a good kicker and should be an upgrade over what the Chargers have had. Punter - 1Drew KaserDrew Kaser is continuing to be a solid punter and should keep improving. He stays.Long Snapper - 1Mike Windt Haven’t had a problem with Mike’s snaps. No reason to mess with it. There you have it. A way too early final 53, I don’t expect this to be right, things are going to change a lot between now and the end of August, but I think this is a good starting point and should help point out where the fun camp battles are going to be.