INGLEWOOD — As pivotal decisions go, none was bigger than Las Vegas coach Antonio Pierce’s decision to punt on fourth-and-1 at the Chargers’ 43-yard line with his team trailing 16-10 with a little more than seven minutes to play in the season-opening game for both teams Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

The Chargers had already stuffed the Raiders on a fourth-and-1 run earlier in the game, taking over on downs, and maybe that played into Pierce’s decision to punt instead of trying for a run or pass that could have netted a first down and a chance to continue driving for a potential go-ahead touchdown.

Then again, perhaps he was thinking a quality punt would pin the Chargers deep in their own end of the field. Stopping them and forcing them to punt, would give the Raiders the ball back with plenty of time to play. AJ Cole did his job, forcing Derius Davis’ fair catch at his own 8-yard line.

Then a funny thing happened.

The Chargers drove the ball down the field for a back-breaking score and an eventual 22-10 victory. They went 92 yards on eight plays over 3 minutes, 29 seconds, sealing the game on Justin Herbert’s 10-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey with 3:40 remaining.

A two-point conversion attempt failed, but no matter.

The game was theirs.

There would be no repeat of the many times in the 2023 season that the Chargers couldn’t seal the deal, couldn’t maintain possession or a lead late in a game. In fact, they lost seven games in the final 2:33 or later on field goals or touchdowns that wiped out leads or broke ties.

There would be no repeat Sunday.

Not only did the Chargers capitalize on the Raiders’ decision to punt, they also stopped Las Vegas’ final drive on defensive lineman Poona Ford’s interception of Gardner Minshew II with 1:44 remaining in the game. Edge rusher Khalil Mack tipped the ball and Ford said he “just watched it into my arms.”

Watching and cheering from the sideline as the Chargers drove for their final touchdown, defensive lineman Morgan Fox recalled that it was “great to see us finish a game. We know we’ve always been able to do it, and to put it together against an opponent like this was awesome.”

EXTRA POINTS

Running back J.K. Dobbins gained 135 yards and scored one touchdown on 10 carries, the second-highest rushing game of his career. His career high is 160 yards while with the Baltimore Ravens against the Cincinnati Bengals in the final regular-season game in the 2020 season. …

Wide receiver Joshua Palmer and Raiders cornerback Jack Jones were ejected for fighting after the Chargers’ failed two-point conversion following McConkey’s touchdown catch. Their shoving match after the whistle nearly ignited a bench-clearing brawl beyond the end zone. …

The Chargers placed wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. on injured reserve because of a hip injury and signed tight end Eric Tomlinson to the active roster before the season-opening game. They also elevated linebacker Shaquille Quarterman from the practice squad to the active roster.

Two people were killed in a collision involving an Amazon delivery van in Huntington Beach on Sunday, Sept. 8.

The crash occurred around 10 a.m. at the intersection of Bolsa Avenue and Graham Street. The Amazon delivery van was eastbound on Bolsa when it entered the intersection at Graham on a green light and collided with a Toyota Sienna moving southbound into the same intersection, police said in a statement.

The driver of the Sienna, a 61-year-old Garden Grove man, and his passenger, a woman, died at the scene. Information on the age and city of residence of the woman was not immediately available.

The Amazon delivery driver, a 39-year-old Fountain Valley man who stayed at the scene and cooperated with police, was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, police said.

LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani says he’s not focusing on hitting a historic 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases, a feat no one in Major League baseball has achieved in one season. To do so would put him in the best-ever conversation.

Manager Dave Roberts says Ohtani can focus on winning and 50/50 at the same time.

“He cares. He wants to be the best player to ever have played this game and to do that he has to do something that no one has ever done.”

Ohtani, however, maintains that winning, not records, is what’s important as he nears the mark.

“I’m trying to be less cognizant of it and just focusing on having a good feel at the plate,” the Dodgers star said after helping his team to a 4-0 victory Sunday against the Cleveland Guardians.

“And during the game, it’s whether stealing bases or moving to the next base. That’s what I’m focusing on.”

The pressure to reach his lofty goal became a bit more intense as he notched his 46th home run in the fifth inning Sunday with a towering blast to right that narrowly stayed within the foul pole. Although Manager Dave Roberts said it was clearly in, the Guardians challenged the play, which was upheld as a home run.

“He’s just locked in. The 50/50, the chase is on,” Roberts said. “I just really hope he does it.”

Roberts admitted he’s rooting for the Japanese star to achieve the feat and is excited to have a front-row seat when it happens. Ohtani currently has 46 home runs and 46 stolen bases.

“I think he wants it a lot,” Roberts said. “And he’s doing it really well. He’s not chasing hits, expanding. He’s doing it the right way.

“It’s takes a special person, a special brain to manage the expectations he has on him. When he gets to playing, he’s just focusing on helping the team win. And also knowing that 50-75% of the people that have shown up to the ballpark are looking for him to play baseball. That’s a lot to take care of.”

LOS ANGELES  – His stay with the Dodgers has been brief, barely a month. But right-hander Jack Flaherty has quickly become a solid member of an injury-plagued rotation. In six starts with the Dodgers, he had gone 4-1 with a 3.18 ERA.

Flaherty further solidified his reputation and importance to the Dodgers’ staff Sunday with a strong outing against the Cleveland Guardians as Shohei Ohtani moved closer to the 50/50 club with his 46th home run.

Flaherty (12-6) shut out the Guardians, 4-0, on five hits in 7 1/3 innings as temperatures reached a blistering 104 degrees at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers landed Flaherty at the deadline, along with utilityman Tommy Edman and Michael Kopech.

“He’s been great, it’s been huge,” Robert said of acquiring Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers. “In the sense of stabilizing the rotation when it hasn’t been so stable this season. Just being able to go out there, give us some length, get us to the sixth inning, and a touch into the seventh inning. I feel great with the way he prepares.”

Flaherty faced his biggest threat in the fourth when the Guardians and a man on first and Josh Naylor at the plate. A .242 hitter, Naylor blasted a line drive to Max Muncy, who leaped into the air to snag the hit for the second out.

Flaherty struck out the next batter to end the inning.

“I didn’t know Munce could jump like that,” Flaherty said. “That was impressive. That was a huge play.”

Roberts sent out Flaherty to start the eighth, a risky move considering the number of injuries to the Dodgers pitchers this season. All 17 of their pitchers have been on the Injured List at various times this season.

After giving up a hard-hit single to Tyler Freeman, Roberts replaced Flaherty with Kopech.

“He has added consistency and stability (to the staff),” Roberts said. “Today was a pitching clinic. Obviously, it was really hot out there. So, for him to be efficient and get us back it’s huge. He had command all day long of his fastball, his breaking balls, the different breaking balls that he uses kept them off balance.”

Flaherty ended his day by retiring 12 of the final 13 batters he faced to pick up his fifth victory with his new team.

“(Fitting in) is huge,” Flaherty said. “Just being able to give these guys a chance to win. They’re scoring runs and playing great defense behind me, so I’m just trying to keep us in the game.”

The team did not hold batting practice for a third consecutive day given the triple-digit temperatures. Roberts said he wanted to minimize their outdoor activity this weekend.

The lack of pregame activity didn’t slow the Dodgers’ offense, which scored 12 runs over the weekend. The Dodgers have the sixth-best batting average in the majors (.254).

The Dodgers collected six hits off four Guardian pitchers, starting with Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani gave the Dodgers their first hit when he landed a fly ball in center field in the third inning. Then in an occurrence rarer than Haley’s Comet, the Dodgers star was picked off by Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee’s throw to first.

Ohtani is second in the league in stolen bases with 46 and is chasing Major League history, seeking to become the first player to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season.

Betts got the Dodgers their second hit with a hard-hit triple off Guardians starter Bibee (Mission Viejo High/Cal State Fullerton) that bounced off the right field wall, celebrating with an arms-raised hop on the bag, and Will Smith got them their first run when he singled home Betts to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the fourth.

The Dodgers kept the rally going. With one out, they loaded the bases when Max Muncy, who walked, went to second on Smith’s hit and Edman walked. After a visit from the pitching coach, Bibee settled down and retired the next two batters to escape further damage.

With one out in the fifth, Ohtani got back to pursuing history. He lofted an 86-mph fastball that narrowly flew by the foul pole. A review showed that he had indeed recorded his 46th home of the season, leaving him four home runs shy of the 50/50 mark, and giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

Bibee, who was facing the Dodgers for the first time since joining the league, was pulled after five, having allowed two runs on two hits, walking three and striking out four.

Bibee (11-7) had given up one earned run in three of his previous five outings, with all of those starts on the road.

The Dodgers added two runs in the eighth. Muncy made it 3-0 with his 12th home run. The Dodgers got their final score when Will Smith doubled scored on Taylor’s two-out single to right.

Firefighters were making progress against a brush fire on Camp Pendleton that sparked Saturday and has charred around 900 acres.

Fire crews had the blaze about 15 percent contained as of Sunday, according to a Camp Pendleton spokesperson.

There were five aircraft assigned to the blaze early Sunday, along with crews on the ground, Marine Capt. James Sartain, a base operations officer, said in an email.

“The fire remains in a status of no threat to the installation or personnel,” Sartain said  Later in the afternoon, he added that firefighters “continue to make good progress on limiting any spread.”

The Roblar Fire began around 2 p.m. Saturday in the Zulu Impact Area on base near Case Springs Road, which is five miles from Fallbrook and about 6 1/2 miles from Oceanside.

The fire began near the middle of Camp Pendleton at a time when the temperature was about 100 degrees. Winds gusting up to 20 mph help spread the blaze, which produced a towering column of smoke drifting to the northeast. The cause of the fire was under investigation. No other details were available.