Thursday Night Football: Raiders at Chargers
By Covers.com
Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers (-7, 47.5)
THE STORY: The San Diego Chargers have made a habit of starting slowly and digging themselves into early-season holes in the past few years. San Diego bucked that trend this season, opening with four wins in its first five games. Now, the Chargers are mired in a three-game losing streak as they prepare to host the Oakland Raiders on Thursday night with first place in the AFC West on the line. It will mark the third game in 11 days for San Diego, which is tied with the Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs for the division lead. Oakland has lost its last two games to division rivals Kansas City and Denver.
LINE MOVES: San Diego opened as a low as -6.5 and has been bet up to a touchdown favorite. The total has dropped from 49 to 47.5 points.
WEATHER: Game-time temperatures will be in the high 70s under partial cloudy skies. There is a zero percent chance of rain and a slight 1-mph breeze at Qualcomm Stadium.
ABOUT THE RAIDERS (4-4, 5-3 ATS): After dropping back-to-back home games, Oakland plays four of its next five on the road. The Raiders are 0-2 since losing QB Jason Campbell to injury and blew a pair of 10-point leads in Sunday’s 38-24 loss to the Broncos. QB Carson Palmer threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns, but he was also intercepted three times, giving him six picks in 1 ½ games. Michael Bush rushed for 96 yards in place of Darren McFadden, who is expected to sit out again with a sprained foot suffered in a loss to Kansas City on Oct. 23.
ABOUT THE CHARGERS (4-4, 2-6 ATS): Philip Rivers has become a turnover machine for San Diego, tossing a career-high three interceptions in Sunday’s 45-38 home loss to Green Bay. He now has a league-leading 14 picks – one more than he had all of last season. Rivers, who had two interceptions returned for scores, did rebound to throw for 385 yards and four TDs – three to stud WR Vincent Jackson. RB Ryan Mathews could return Thursday after sitting out Sunday. Backup Mike Tolbert rushed for 83 yards and a TD and had four catches for 59 yards. TE Antonio Gates tied a season high with eight catches.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Oakland swept both meetings with the Chargers last season, winning in San Diego 28-13 while amassing 251 yards on the ground.
2. Rivers’ passing rating stands at 81.4. He finished the past three seasons with a rating above 100.
3. Palmer had his best game of the season against San Diego a year ago, throwing for four TDs and just missing a perfect passer rating (157.2).
TRENDS:
* Raiders are 4-0 ATS in their last four meetings.
* Under is 12-3-1 in the last 16 meetings in San Diego.
* Underdog is 4-0 ATS in their last four meetings.
PREDICTION: Chargers 34, Raiders 20. Rivers finally solves his turnover issues and carves up a defense that has yielded 66 points in consecutive losses to offensively challenged Kansas City and Denver.
Raiders at Chargers
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
The AFC West race is currently the tightest one in football, not necessarily the best. Oakland, San Diego, and Kansas City each own 4-4 record atop the division, while Denver sits one game back at 3-3. The Chiefs and Broncos hook up on Sunday from Arrowhead Stadium, while the Raiders and Chargers get the Week 10 card going on Thursday night in Southern California.
These two old AFL rivals are each riding multiple-game losing skids, but the air has been deflated from Oakland’s balloon over the last two weeks. Since the Raiders acquired Carson Palmer from the Bengals, Oakland has been outscored 66-24 in home defeats to Kansas City and Denver. The Chiefs pitched the shutout at the Black Hole in Week 7, as Kansas City intercepted six passes, while taking two back for touchdowns.
Following the bye week, Oakland squandered a 10-point lead in a 38-24 home defeat to a Denver squad that had lost by 35 points the week prior. Making things worse for the Silver and Black, the Broncos rushed for 298 yards, including 117 from the nimble-footed Tim Tebow. The Raiders had an opportunity to pull off the season sweep of the Broncos, but the loss drops Oakland to 1-2 inside the division.
The Chargers looked to be in cruise control atop the AFC West at 4-1, but three consecutive losses to the Jets, Chiefs, and Packers has forced a three-way tie in the division. San Diego returned home after last Monday’s overtime loss at Kansas City to battle the unbeaten Packers. Green Bay traveled west and didn’t skip a beat in a 45-38 victory at Qualcomm Stadium to improve to 8-0, while San Diego failed to cover for the third straight week.
Both these offenses rank in the top-10 of the league, while the Raiders own the third-best rushing attack (151.9 yards/game). Oakland ran for just 100 yards in the 14-point loss to Denver, while missing leading rusher Darren McFadden to a foot injury. In fact, the former Arkansas standout has been hurt for several weeks as McFadden carried the ball just twice in the Kansas City blowout. McFadden is listed as ‘out’ with the short week, giving Michael Bush another opportunity to start at running back.
The Raiders swept the season series from the Chargers in 2010 by taking each game as a substantial underdog. Oakland won in the Black Hole last October, 35-27 as seven-point ‘dogs, in spite of getting outgained by San Diego, 506-279. The Raiders benefited from a safety, a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, and a fumble return for a score to seal the victory. Also, Oakland was able to win that game without the services of an injured McFadden in the backfield, while snapping a 13-game skid to San Diego that dated back to 2003.
In the second meeting last season in Southern California, the Raiders knocked out the Chargers with a swift kick to the face in a 28-13 rout as 12 ½-point ‘dogs. Oakland jumped out to a 14-0 lead after one quarter, thanks to a touchdown on the ground and through the air from Jason Campbell. San Diego was limited to 21 yards on the ground, as Ryan Mathews missed the game with a high ankle sprain. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Bolts, while turning into a costly defeat as San Diego fell one game short for the AFC West title.
There is one strong trend that favors the Raiders in this game as Oakland owns a 14-3 ATS mark since 2008 as an underdog off a loss. The Silver and Black cashed in both instances this season against the Jets and Texans, as Oakland won each game outright. This trend has been an extremely strong on the road, with the Raiders going 8-2 ATS, including a 6-0 ATS mark inside the division.
The Chargers are listed as seven-point home favorites, while the total is set at 48. The game will be televised nationally on the NFL Network with kickoff set for 8:20 PM EST.
NFL Week 10
Raiders (4-4) @ Chargers (4-4) - Two slumping rivals meet on short rest; San Diego is 0-3 since its bye, turning ball over nine times- they're 1-3 as favorite at home this year, but 33-21-2 since 2003, 13-8-1 in last 22 divisional home tilts. Oakland beat Chargers twice LY, ending 0-13 series skid; they've lost seven of last eight visits here, with all seven losses by 7+ points. Raiders are on road for first time in five weeks; they're 2-1 on foreign soil this year, with three games decided by total of 11 points;they're 20-15-1 in last 36 games as road underdog. Underdogs are 5-1 vs spread in AFC West games this season. Four of last five Raider games stayed under total; three of last four San Diego games went over.