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The spread on the Raiders Chargers game was listed at -7 for the home team, San Diego. Both teams had 4-4 records. This game goes off Thursday night (November 10).
Sportsbook.com Line : San Diego -7 (-115) & 48
Opening Line & Total: Chargers -7 & 48.5
The first Thursday night game of the 2011 NFL season pairs two struggling franchises, each with injured No. 1 running backs, when Raiders match up with the Chargers.
Oakland has dropped two straight games without RB Darren McFadden (foot), who is not expected to be ready when Thursday rolls around. San Diego has lost three straight games, including the last one without RB Ryan Mathews (groin). He is questionable to play on Thursday. After losing 13 straight meetings, the Raiders stunned San Diego twice last year and have a chance to upset an underachieving Chargers team again. San Diego had recovered from a slow start only to see its momentum defused at home in a 28-13 loss to Oakland last year. In that game, the Raiders rushed for 251 yards on 52 carries, controlling the clock for 38:39 and limiting the Chargers to 286 yards of offense. Then-QB Jason Campbell threw 16 passes in that game, so the Raiders don’t necessarily need a big night from Carson Palmer, who has been shaky so far.
In six starts under Campbell, Oakland turned the ball over just seven times. But new QB Carson Palmer has already thrown six interceptions in two games. Palmer has completed fewer than 50% of his passes (27-of-56), but he showed some encouraging signs in last week’s loss to Denver, throwing for 332 yards on 9.5 YPA and three touchdowns. WR Jacoby Ford caught five of his six targets for 105 yards and a TD, and rookie Denarius Moore had a dozen balls thrown in his direction, but he only caught four of those. Without McFadden, Michael Bush will once again receive the bulk of the rushing workload. Bush has rushed for 195 yards on 36 carries (5.4 YPC) in the past two weeks, and has also chipped in 45 receiving yards and touchdown.
Oakland’s defense was shredded by Denver last week to the tune of 299 rushing yards on 7.9 YPC. The Raiders now rank fourth-worst in the league with 140 rushing YPG allowed. However, the passing defense held strong during the recent three-game homestand, limiting opposing QBs to a 47% completion rate and 477 passing yards (159 YPG).
San Diego QB Philip Rivers continues to struggle through a miserable season, tallying a league-high 14 interceptions. Rivers is hoping he can change his fortunes against a Raiders team he has beaten eight out of 10 times in his career. Despite the large volume of picks, Rivers ranks fourth in the NFL with 309 passing yards per game. The injury bug has bitten San Diego all season and starting WR Malcom Floyd could miss his second straight game with a hip injury. This comes at an inopportune time considering Floyd caught 13 passes for 285 yards in the two games against Oakland last year. Fellow WR Vincent Jackson has been bothered by a leg injury, but he is coming off his best game of the year, catching seven passes for 141 yards and 3 TD in the loss to Green Bay. The Chargers have not done a good job rushing the football during their losing skid, gaining just 283 yards on 3.9 YPC. They rushed for just 112 yards (3.3 YPC) in the two losses to Oakland last year, showing that an effective ground game will go a long way towards winning.
San Diego’s defense continues to limit opposing air attacks, ranking fourth in the NFL with 192 passing YPG allowed. The Chargers are a pedestrian 18th in rushing defense, giving up 120 YPG.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
