The Los Angeles Chargers head to the Black Hole and take the field against the Oakland Raiders in this week’s edition of Thursday Night Football.
The Chargers are fresh off a home win over the Green Bay Packers last Sunday while the Raiders are coming off a home win over the Detroit Lions in their last outing. Los Angeles leads Oakland in the all-time regular series between these two franchises at 62-54-2. The Chargers have beaten the Raiders in their last four meetings including a 20-6 road win last November 11, 2018.
The Los Angeles Chargers have been involved in many close games this season with seven of their nine games played this year decided by seven points or fewer. However, the Chargers are only 2-5 SU in those close games and they are just 4-5 SU overall and at 3rd place in the AFC West division.
LA, however, is coming off a big win over the Green Bay Packers. They picked up 442 yards of offense and didn’t commit any turnover while holding Green Bay to only 184 yards of offense. The Chargers’ running game finally got going with Melvin Gordon rushing for 80 yards with two scores while Mike Williams caught 111 passing yards during the game.
The Chargers rank 6th in passing at 281.3 rushing yards per game. Los Angeles is 28th in rushing at 79.4 rushing yards per contest and they are scoring only 20.1 points per outing this season. The Chargers’ defense has allowed their opponents to score an average of 18.7 points per game this season.
The Oakland Raiders are having an up and down season. The Raiders have not won more than two straight games this season but neither have they lost more than two in a row. As it stands, Oakland is 4-4 SU on the season and they are currently ranked 2nd in the AFC West Division.
In their last game against the Detroit Lions, the Raiders were outgained 473-450 in a tight back and forth contest. Derek Carr completed 20 out of 31 passes for 249 yards with two scores while rookie running back Josh Jacobs had another big game with 120 rushing yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns.
The Raiders rank 15th at 245.3 passing yards per game. Oakland is 6th in rushing yards at 136.4 per outing. They are ranked 16th in team scoring at 22.8 points per game while their defense is allowing opponents to score 27.0 points per contest.
Los Angeles is 4-6 SU in their last 10 games played. The Chargers are 2-2 four road games this season and 4-2 SU in their last six games against the AFC West Division. Oakland is 7-13 SU in their last 20 games and 3-1 SU in their last four games played at home. The Raiders are 8-4 SU in their last 12 games in November. Head to head, the Chargers are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played against the Raiders, including 4-1 SU in their last five meetings.
The Chargers’ offense looked better in their first game after the firing of offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. Rivers threw for 294 yards while completing 21 out of 28 passes. On the other hand, Melvin Gordon had 20 carries for 80 yards and two rushing touchdowns after just posting 81 yards on 32 carries in his previous three games combined.
Oakland ranks 7th in the NFL in rushing yards per game allowed but their secondary allows the most passing yards in the league at 297.5 per game. That should allow Philip Rivers to work the routes with his receivers and help the Chargers move the ball downfield. On the other side, expect the Raiders’ to give rookie running back Josh Jacobs plenty of touches in this one. Jacobs has earned at least 17 touches in each of his last five games and with the Chargers ranking 20th in rush defense, he is sure to play a big role for the Raiders here.
The Chargers looked good in their win against the Packers but all season long, they have been hot or cold. Sure, they’ve picked up some solid wins but have reverted back to their bad habits in their losses. I think this is anybody’s game and personally, I don’t want to bet on the winner. If you put a gun to my head though, I would have to go with the Raiders. The Chargers are going to come out flat after a big win over the Packers.
PREDICTION: OAKLAND RAIDERS
The Chargers are 3-5-1 ATS in their last nine games played. Los Angeles is 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games played on the road. The Raiders are 4-1 ATS in their last five games played. Oakland is 6-1 ATS in their last seven home games. Head to head, the Chargers are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Raiders. They are also 4-1 ATS in their last five games played in Oakland.
The trends point to the Chargers here but don’t forget that the Raiders have lost just once, ATS, in their last seven home games played. I think the Raiders run the football here and win a grit and grind contest at home.
PREDICTION: RAIDERS +1
The total has gone under in seven out of the last eight games played by the Chargers. The under is 3-1 in their four road games played this season and the under is also 4-1 in their last games against the AFC conference. The total has gone over in five out of the last five games played by the Raiders. The under is 5-1 in Oakland’s last six games against the AFC Conference. Head to head, the under is 5-0 in the last five meetings between these two teams.
The Raiders can be lured into playing high-scoring games and they have been involved in such games in their last three outings. However, this is a Chargers team that is Top 10 in defense when it comes to total yards allowed. The under is 7-1 in their last 8 games with an average combined score of 37.13 total points. The weak link on that stout defense is in rushing and the Raiders 6th-ranked defense will try to take advantage and that’s going to lead to a low-scoring contest.
PREDICTION: UNDER 49
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
