OAKLAND, Calif. — There were just over 10 minutes left to play Sunday when rookie quarterback Derek Carr threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 6-yard strike to wide receiver Andre Holmes, giving the Oakland Raiders a 28-21 lead against the San Diego Chargers.

Interim coach Tony Sparano, making his debut after replacing the fired Dennis Allen, had the Raiders energized, and they appeared headed for an improbable win against a San Diego team that had won four straight games.

The Chargers ruined that feel-good story, however.

San Diego (5-1) scored the final 10 points and escaped with a 31-28 victory against the Raiders (0-5) at the O.co Coliseum.

Chargers running back Branden Oliver, an undrafted rookie out of Buffalo, scored on a 1-yard run with 1:56 left to play, giving the Chargers the lead. San Diego sealed the win when rookie cornerback Jason Verrett, a first-round draft pick from TCU, intercepted Carr’s deep strike intended for wide receiver Brice Butler on second-and-1 from the Chargers’ 44 with just over a minute to play.

“When it came down to it in crunch time, both sides stepped up,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. “I think it was big to win like this.

“We knew we were going to get their best. There’s a lot of good players over there, and they played well today. When you win games like this it gives you confidence in the other close games.”

Rivers threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns, Oliver, making his first career start, rushed for 101 yards on 26 carries, and wide receiver Malcom Floyd caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Carr completed 18 of 34 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns — the yardage and touchdown totals both career highs — with one interception.

“There’s no moral victories,” Sparano said. “I did tell them that I was proud of them. This group, from what they’ve been through the last two weeks, came out and played with a lot of energy, a lot of passion.”

What the Chargers said:

“It’s huge for us. We want to finish games and never be counted out.” — safety Eric Weddle on San Diego coming from behind to beat the Raiders for their fifth straight victory.

What the Raiders said:

“He really played well today. The kid is competitive. He’s just getting better and better and better. He’s continuously making progress.” — interim coach Tony Sparano on rookie quarterback Derek Carr, who passed for 282 yards and four touchdowns, both career highs.

What we learned about the Chargers:

1. The Chargers aren’t only good frontrunners. After rolling to four straight wins by an average of 17.8 points, San Diego came from behind Sunday to beat the Raiders 31-28. They persevered despite a series of costly penalties — one nullifying a 54-yard Nick Novak field goal — and a botched fake punt. The Chargers trailed 28-21 with 10:01 to play but scored the final 10 points and sealed the win on rookie cornerback Jason Verrett’s interception with just over a minute left. “I think they can be a little more valuable,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said of tough victories. “This is what the games are going to be like.”

2. Running back Branden Oliver, an undrafted rookie from Buffalo, is not a one-game wonder. One week after rushing for 119 yards and one touchdown in a 31-0 victory against the Jets, Oliver made his first career start and rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown Sunday in San Diego’s 31-28 victory against Oakland. “He’s an animal,” Chargers veteran free safety Eric Weddle said. “Explosive, low to the ground, hard to tackle. Just as impressive is his pass protection.”

–QB Philip Rivers completed 22 of 34 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions Sunday in a 31-28 comeback win against the Raiders. Rivers cracked the 300-yard barrier for the second time this season. He posted a passer rating of 123.8, surpassing 123.0 for the fifth time in six games. Rivers has thrown 15 touchdown passes with just two interceptions.

–RB Branden Oliver, an undrafted rookie from Buffalo, cracked the 100-yard rushing mark Sunday for the second straight game, gaining 101 yards on 26 carries in a 31-28 victory over Oakland in his first career start. Oliver scored on a 1-yard run with 1:56 left to play, putting the Chargers ahead for good. Oliver rushed for 119 yards and one touchdown in a 31-0 victory against the Jets last week.

–CB Jason Verrett made a victory-sealing interception Sunday in a 31-28 win against Oakland at the O.co Coliseum. With 1:13 left to play, Verrett picked off Raider rookie quarterback Derek Carr’s deep pass to wide receiver Brice Butler at the Chargers’ 5. Verrett, a rookie first-round pick out of TCU, grew up in nearby Fairfield and had some 50 family members and friends at the game. He made six tackles and had two passes defensed.

What we learned about the Raiders:

1. They’ve found their quarterback of the future and the present. Rookie Derek Carr, a second round draft pick from Fresno State, completed 18 of 34 passes for a career-high 282 yards and a career-high four touchdowns with one interception Sunday in a 31-28 loss to San Diego. He posted a passer rating of 107.7, another career best. “I thought Carr played real well,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. He was efficient. He was making some checks and handled a lot of our blitzes at the line. Rivers said that after the game he told Carr “he has a heck of a future” in the NFL if he keeps playing the way he did Sunday.

2. Interim coach Tony Sparano made a strong opening push to keep the job after this season. Less than two weeks after replacing the fired Dennis Allen, Sparano nearly upset a one-loss Chargers team in his debut. The Raiders played with passion and energy on both sides of the ball. On offense, rookie quarterback Derek Carr had the best game of his young career, throwing four touchdown passes and attacking the Chargers downfield. The Raiders complemented Carr’s passing with 114 rushing yards. Coming into the game, the Raiders averaged a league-low 61.5 rushing yards per game. Running back Darren McFadden rushed for a season-high 80 yards on 14 carries, and Maurice Jones-Drew carried four times for a season-high 30 yards.

–QB Derek Carr completed 18 of 34 yards for 282 yards and four touchdowns — both career highs — in a 31-28 loss Sunday to San Diego. Carr’s passer rating of 107.7 was also the best of his young career. Fifty-two seconds into the game, Carr connected with wide receiver Andre Holmes on a 77-yard touchdown pass.

–WR Andre Holmes caught four passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns Sunday in a 31-28 loss to San Diego. Holmes grabbed rookie Derek Carr’s 77-yard touchdown pass just 52 seconds into the game. He caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Carr with 10:01 left in the game, giving the Raiders a 28-21 lead. The 6-foot-4 Holmes took full advantage of his superior size against the smaller Chargers cornerbacks.

–RB Darren McFadden carried 14 times for a season-high 80 yards Sunday in a 31-28 loss to San Diego. McFadden, who came into the game averaging 3.4 yards per carry, averaged 5.7 yards per attempt Sunday with a long gain of 17.