Chargers – Raiders
Time: 4:05 ET
Spread: SD -7.5
Total: 43.5
Betting odds courtesy of Bovada
Injuries, injuries…and oh how often they come around. The San Diego Chargers have 23 players listed injured as of Sunday morning, and the team is hoping guys can continue to step up like Brandon Oliver did last week in the continuation of the Chargers’ winning streak.
NFL oddsmakers still like the banged up Chargers, favoring SD by 7.5 points over the hosting Oakland Raiders.
Oliver rushed last week for 114 yards and caught an additional 68 yards, and the Chargers are also hoping Ronnie Brown can help with some of that load. He played 30 games for San Diego and found his way back after the Houston Texans released him last week.
The Chargers have outscored opponents 116-45 over its winning streak and rank 6th in the NFL with 29 points per game and 9th in yardage at 389 per game. QB Philip Rivers has completed 70.3 percent of his passes while posting a QB rating of 116.3. In the Chargers lone loss this season, Rivers completed 58.3 percent of his passes and threw an INT. In the four straight victories, he’s been over 70 percent every game and has just one INT while having thrown 11 TDs.
Rivers has a stable of receivers who have benefited. Four Chargers have over 200 yards on the season, paced by Eddie Royal’s 276 yards and four TDs. TE Antonio Gates is still good for five TDs thus far, while having caught 275 total yards Keenan Allen and Michael Floyd have both been good, as well, with Floyd having managed two TDs.
Oakland really hasn’t done much well offensively this season. The Raiders have passed for just 208.5 yards per game and have been even worse on the ground, ranking second-to-last in the NFL with 61.5 yards per contest. The team has reeled off four straight losses while failing to score more than 14 points in any of them. Last week’s 38-14 loss to the Miami Dolphins set the Raiders up for yet another tough matchup against a successful Chargers team.
Darren McFadden has been a continued disappointment. He’s rushed for just 151 yards despite 41 attempts, good for a 3.4 yard per carry average. The second-leading rusher is QB Derek Carr, with 66 yards and three first-down conversions, but Carr has thrown four INTs while completing just four TD passes, and he has a QB rating of 75.2. Carr incurred a high ankle sprain in last week’s matchup but he is expected to start.
Matt Schaub may eventually assume the starting role in Oakland, but this team is clearly going nowhere any time soon. The signing of Maurice Jones-Drew has done very little as the 9th year veteran has rushed just 11 times this season, fumbling on one of those 11 carries. The backfield is awful, Schaub is fighting his way back, and nothing really can go right this year for the Raiders, in any type of scenario, anyway.
