San Diego Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders Betting Odds: MNF Week 1
Carrie Stroup here with your San Diego Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders betting odds for this MNF Week 1 doubleheader, which had the Raiders as a -1 point favorite at home at Sportsbook.com.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Oakland -1 & 46.5
Opening Line & Total: Pick ‘em & 48
AFC West rivals play the back-end of the Monday Night doubleheader when San Diego visits Oakland.
The perennially underachieving Chargers haven’t covered a Week 1 spread since 2007. QB Philip Rivers suffered through a mistake-laden 2011, lost top WR Vincent Jackson, and will be without blindside pass protector Jared Gaither (back). Top RB Ryan Mathews is also out with a shoulder injury. Raiders QB Carson Palmer could be better with a full preseason in Oakland, but his declining arm strength and poor decision-making often spell disaster in the turnover category. The Raiders D will improve with DE Matt Shaughnessy returning healthy, but their porous secondary could leave them open to big plays from San Diego wideouts Robert Meachem and Malcom Floyd. Oakland has won three of the past four meetings SU and is 5-1 ATS against San Diego in the past three seasons. However, the Chargers have historically been a great wager on the road in this series, going 15-5 ATS (13-7 SU) in the past 20 visits to O.co Coliseum.
While Oakland is 11-3 ATS (79%) since the start of the 2010 season when the total is between 42.5 and 49 points, San Diego is 1-9 ATS in road games in that same range and time frame. Consider also that Norv Turner is 5-14 ATS (26%) in road games in the first half of the season since becoming the Chargers’ head coach.
Rivers is 9-3 all-time versus the Raiders and has thrived in Oakland in his career, winning five of six visits and amassing 236 passing YPG, 10 TD and 4 INT in these six meetings. He will miss his favorite target Jackson, but newcomers Meachem and WR Eddie Royal are both solid veterans to rely upon. TE Antonio Gates has been riddled with injuries in the past few years, but he’s still one of the three best at his position in the NFL. Without Mathews to run the football, the Chargers will turn to newcomer Ronnie Brown to carry the workload on Monday night. The defense also added some heady veterans on the defensive side of the ball in LB Demorrio Williams, LB Jarret Johnson and S Atari Bigby, and drafted DE Melvin Ingram in the first round. But they are still an average unit at best, coming off a season in which they allowed 23.6 PPG (22nd in NFL) and 347 total YPG (16th in NFL).
Dennis Allen takes over this Raiders team with major focus of trimming the its NFL record 1,358 penalty yards in 2011. RB Darren McFadden will be the key to this Raiders offense, as the team let go of Michael Bush in the offseason with the confidence that the oft-injured McFadden will be an every-down back. Palmer has some promising young receivers to work with in Darrius Heyward-Bey, Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore, who will be a game-time decision due to his hamstring injury. Oakland’s offensive line is certainly a strength of this team, allowing just 25 sacks last year (tied for 4th in NFL). The defensive line will be significantly better with Shaughnessy, who will line up alongside DT Richard Seymour on the right side of the team’s base 4-3 defense. Oakland needs to improve its run-stop unit after allowing 136 YPG (27th in NFL), but Tyvon Branch and Michael Huff comprise one of the better young safety duos in all of football.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
