Chargers vs. Raiders Point Spread: Thursday Night Football

Neither the Oakland Raiders or the San Diego Chargers are playoff bound this season, but the Raiders will have a little something extra to play for on Thursday Night Football this week. It may be the very last game played at the O.co Coliseum as rumors continue to stir regarding a possible move. The odds favored Raiders will also be saying goodbye to future Hall of famer safety Charles Woodson who just announced his retirement effective at the end of the regular season. The point spread is currently favoring the Raiders at -5.

Thursday Night Football: Oakland Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers

Point Spread: Raiders -5
Over/under: 47
Date: Thursday, December 24, 8:25pm ET
Location:O.ca Stadium, Oakland, CA

San Diego Chargers

The +5 underdog Chargers have had a disappointing season amidst their own stadium issues and find themselves at the bottom of the AFC West. The offense is averaging 377 yards per game but has had trouble putting points on the board, averaging just 20 points per game. The red zone troubles are due to both lack of an effective running back and viable targets for Philip Rivers to throw to. The line will need to protect Rivers, who has been sacked 36 times this season, if they hope to change their scoring woes.

A solid defensive performance would go a long way to keep this team in this game. Oakland has been turnover prone this season, with quarterback Derek Carr throwing two last week. The Chargers would be wise to blitz selectively, as they have to account for rookie wideout Amari Cooper as a deep threat. If they can find a way to disguise coverage and keep Cooper in check, they could keep the score low enough for their offense to keep pace.

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders are in the top 10 teams in the league when it comes to sacking the quarterback, with linebacker Khalil Mack accounting for 15 of the team’s 36 total sacks on the season. With San Diego struggling offensively, Mack could act as a one-man wrecking crew if he’s able to consistently get pressure on Rivers. Without pressure in the backfield, Oakland could find themselves in trouble as their secondary is currently giving up 266 passing yards per game. The final numbers could be significantly worse if Rivers is left with too much time to dissect this Raiders defense.

While Carr and Cooper are clearly developing a special on-field rapport, Carr simply makes too many mistakes. If he’s unable to limit mistakes, it could sink an offense that has shown great promise this season. While Cooper has made an impact in his first year, running back Latavius Murray is silently having a great season running the ball and is likely to cross the 1,000 yard marker before season’s end. If they can find some running lanes, it should help open up the deep play to Cooper.

Thursday Night Football Prediction

There will be a lot of emotion in Oakland on Thursday Night. Between Woodson’s retirement and Raider fans potentially saying “goodbye” to the Black Hole, it seems unlikely that the Chargers both in the circumstances and in how they’ve been playing, can come in and get a win.

Raiders, 27-20

Check out the rest of Sports Interaction’s best picks against the spread in week 16!