Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA
Sunday, December 5, 2010, 4:05 pm EST, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Chargers -12.5
Current Line: Chargers -13
Opening Total: 46.5
Current Total: 45
Money Line: Chargers -600 / Raiders +475
Two weeks ago, it was the Oakland Raiders (5-6) who had a winning record and were challenging Kansas City for the lead in the AFC West. The Chargers (6-5) were still under the .500 mark at the time despite consecutive wins that followed a season-high three-game losing streak. That skid for San Diego (-13) started with a crazy 35-27 loss at Oakland, the team’s first loss in the last 14 meetings between them.
The Chargers have bounced back nicely though, winning four games in a row both straight-up and against the spread. They have scored 33 points or more three times during that stretch while limiting the opposition to 14 in their last two. San Diego was especially impressive in a 36-14 victory at Indianapolis on Sunday night, picking off Colts quarterback Peyton Manning four times and returning two of those for touchdowns.
Quarterback Philip Rivers did not even throw a touchdown against Indy and was limited to 185 passing yards by his own head coach Norv Turner, who stuck to a brilliant plan of having his team play tough defense and run the ball to control the clock. Turner kept Manning off the field as much as possible and let running back Mike Tolbert pound the ball down the throats of the Colts.
Rivers had entered the game as the NFL’s leader in passing yards, but it was Tolbert who was the offensive star with 103 yards on 26 carries and the lone offensive touchdown for the Chargers. Kicker Nate Kaeding added a career-high five field goals, including a 50-yarder.
While things have turned around for San Diego, the Raiders have not been so lucky. They have dropped two straight since their bye week both SU & ATS after winning four of five – going 5-0 vs. the line in those games. Bruce Gradkowski replaced Jason Campbell under center in the last two games after missing the previous four with a shoulder injury, which will again keep him out of this matchup with the Chargers.
Gradkowski originally suffered a third-degree separation the last time Oakland faced San Diego and might miss the rest of the regular season. Campbell will now try to right the ship and get the Raiders headed back on track. He was the team’s quarterback during an earlier three-game winning streak, throwing five touchdowns and one interception over that stretch.
Oakland has covered the last three meetings with the Chargers, and the OVER is 4-1-1 in the last six games between the teams. San Diego has been favored by nine points or more in seven of the last eight meetings, going 4-3 ATS in those games.
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