ALAMEDA, Calif. — Interim coach Tony Sparano was on record as saying part of the problem with the Raiders is that they’ve simply forgotten how to win.

In the aftermath of a 31-28 loss to the San Diego Chargers at O.co Coliseum, Sparano backed off that statement, but it still seemed true.

With the Raiders poised to get their first win of the season and break a 10-game losing streak, all three phases broke down as San Diego scored the last 10 points.

The Raiders played their best game of the season and lost anyway against one of the NFL’s hottest teams and perhaps its hottest quarterback, Philip Rivers. Even four touchdown passes from rookie quarterback Derek Carr couldn’t change the seemingly inevitable outcome.

“We have to win one of these games like this,” Sparano said. “We put ourselves in position to win. I just feel like right now they’re starting to figure out the amount of work that went into last week. Some of the things we emphasized showed up and we won some of those scenarios. I think they understand that a little bit better right now. We’ll figure it out and get ourselves into position where we can win one.”

The way the three phases let down the Raiders in the fourth quarter:

Offense: On the second-to-last possession with less than five minutes to go and the Raiders leading 28-24, putting together a few first downs could have helped put the game away.

Instead, in a three-and-out that featured two incomplete passes — one ruled intentional grounding by Carr — the Raiders punted it back to San Diego to set up the winning drive.

On a last-ditch drive, Carr threw an interception deep down the left sideline for Brice Butler, with rookie Jason Verrett stealing the pass when the Raiders were getting near field goal range.

Special teams: A 23-yard punt return by Keenan Allen following the Raiders three-and-out gave the Chargers a short field at the 39-yard line.

Defense: When the Raiders desperately needed to make a play, there wasn’t one in sight. Branden Oliver carried for 12, 10 and six yards directly up the middle and eventually punched in the winning score from the 1.

The result made it all the more painful.

“You saw it on the field today: Guys went out and fought hard,” running back Darren McFadden said. “We just didn’t make the plays in the end when it counted. If you looked around the locker room, you could see it in guys’ faces. It hurts.”

NOTES: A 77-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Andre Holmes was the longest scoring play for the Raiders since JaMarcus Russell hit Zach Miller for an 86-yard score on Oct. 10, 2009, against the Philadelphia Eagles and the longest completion since Carson Palmer hit Denarius Moore for a 78-yard gain on Jan. 1, 2012. … Besides taking over kickoff return duties to go along with punt returns, rookie cornerback TJ Carrie played 55 snaps and allowed only one completion to Keenan Allen while getting a pair of passes defensed.

REPORT CARD VS. CHARGERS

PASSING OFFENSE: B — Two late possessions were costly. The Raiders went three-and-out with an intentional grounding just before San Diego’s game-winning drive, and QB Derek Carr threw a final interception on a second-and-1 play on an unnecessary deep attempt with the Raiders getting into field goal range. Other than that, Carr (18 of 34, 282 yards, 4 TDs) was spectacular. Receivers dropped at least five passes in the first half.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B — The Raiders welcomed back Darren McFadden, who had 14 carries for 80 yards. He showed a good burst, the ability to break tackles and a slashing finish to his runs. Maurice Jones-Drew had his most productive game as a Raider, chipping in with 30 yards on four carries. The Raiders had a season-high 114 yards rushing, but most impressive was their 5.7-yard average.

PASS DEFENSE: D — There’s a reason opposing quarterbacks have a 99.9 passer rating against the Raiders since the start of the 2012 season. The pass rush isn’t good enough, and neither is the coverage. So it comes as no surprise that the NFL’s hottest quarterback, Philip Rivers, posted a 123.8 rating and completed 22 of 34 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns. A few nice plays in the secondary were made by rookie TJ Carrie and veteran CB Tarell Brown.

RUSH DEFENSE: C-minus — Chargers rookie Branden Oliver had 101 yards on 26 carries and hurt the Raiders on the final scoring drive, running it right at the soft middle before scoring on a 1-yard run. Overall, the Raiders were better than they were against the Jets, Texans and Dolphins, giving up 3.5 yards per carry.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C-minus — Two plays stood out in the way the game played out. First, a 23-yard punt return by Keenan Allen to the Raiders’ 39-yard line set up San Diego with a short-field drive to win the game. Second, late in the first half, Carr got the Raiders in position for a 53-yard field goal attempt by Sebastian Janikowski, who missed. Carrie added a spark on both punt and kickoff returns.

COACHING: B — The Raiders did a better job of executing than at any point under Dennis Allen through the first four games. Tony Sparano’s directive to let Carr throw deep more often paid dividends, and Greg Olson called a good game — particularly in using running plays on second-and-long or first-and-long (following penalties) to get back into good down and distance. Not sure the Raiders have the defenders to match up with Rivers in any scheme defensively.