The NFL’s second-leading passer, Philip Rivers (4,287 yards, 26 TDs), will be on display when the San Diego Chargers (4-10) meet the Oakland Raiders (6-8). In recent weeks, Oakland has lost one of its last three. The game will begin Thursday, Dec 24 at 8:25 p.m. ET and can be seen on NFLN.
The Raiders and San Diego Chargers last met in Week 7, when Oakland beat San Diego 37-29. Malcolm Smith led the way for the Raiders defense in that game, totaling 11 tackles, one sack, and one interception. Amari Cooper had a big game as well, totaling 133 yards and a TD on five receptions. Danny Woodhead had an outstanding performance, racking up 101 total yards and two TDs. He had some success as both a runner (26 yards) and receiver (75 yards). Philip Rivers had a big day as well, contributing 336 yards and three TDs through the air.
The Raiders, a four-point favorite, will be looking to defend their home field when San Diego visits. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is 44 points.
The Raiders enter the game with records of 6-8 Straight Up (SU) and 7-7 Against The Spread (ATS) this season. In the past five games, Oakland is 2-3 for both SU and ATS. The Raiders may look to take advantage of a San Diego pass defense that allows 11.6 yards per pass. Transitioning to the Oakland defense, there are some factors that could impact the outcome. The Chargers may have a difficult time running against the Raiders. The Chargers average 83.9 yards per game on the ground, 31st in the NFL. On special teams, San Diego may give up some big plays to the Raiders in the return game. The Chargers have allowed 101.6 return yards per game, making them one of the worst in the NFL.
As for their opponent, the Chargers have a record of 6-8 ATS and 4-10 SU. The Chargers went 2-3 SU and 3-2 ATS over the last five games. San Diego has found a lot of success through the air. Its 293.9 passing yards per game ranks fourth in the NFL. San Diego tends to run a lot of plays, averaging 68.4 offensive snaps for third-most in the league.
Predictions: SU Winner – Oak, ATS Winner – SD, O/U – Under
Notes
Oakland is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 15 of Oakland’s last 23 games.
Oakland is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games.
Oakland is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Oakland is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Oakland’s last 8 games at home.
Oakland is 5-19 SU in its last 24 games when playing San Diego.
Oakland is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against San Diego.
Oakland is 7-18 ATS in its last 25 games when playing at home against San Diego.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Oakland’s last 8 games when playing at home against San Diego.
San Diego is 3-2 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Oakland is 5-3 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Remarkably, Oakland is winless (0-5) SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet 5-1 SU when losing the turnover battle.
Dating back to last season, Oakland is only 3-7 SU against AFC West opponents, while San Diego is just 2-8 SU against divisional foes.
The Oakland rushing attack is ranked 26th in the league, while the San Diego run defense is ranked 24th. The Chargers’ offensive run game is ranked 31st, compared to the 13th-ranked rush defense of the Raiders.
