Preview and Prediction: Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
By Austin Gayle
An in-depth preview of the Oakland Raiders Week 15 matchup with the San Diego Chargers, along with a prediction.
The Oakland Raiders (10-3) will look to clinch their first playoff birth in 14 years with a win over the San Diego Chargers (5-8) at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday.
Raiders coach Jack Del Rio spoke to his team’s preparation and the strength of the Chargers earlier in the week.
"“Busy in our preparation, ready for a trip down to San Diego and taking on the Chargers, Del Rio said,” per Raiders.com. “Good football team, well coached, lot of talent. They’ve had a lot of injuries this year and Philip Rivers doesn’t miss a beat. The defense has been playing very well with [defensive coordinator John] Pagano leading the way down there and I just think they’re doing a good job. So, we’re getting ourselves geared up, bouncing back onto next.”"
After losing to the Kansas City Chiefs last week, the Raiders have no room for error heading into their final three games of the season. A win in San Diego is paramount.
Here is a preview and prediction of the Raiders’ Week 15 matchup against the Chargers.
Chargers’ run game will fall, Philip Rivers will follow suit
Chargers running back Melvin Gordon is expected to miss Sunday’s affair after suffering a hip injury last week, leaving rookie running back Kenneth Farrow and quarterback Philip Rivers to pick up the slack on offense.
Farrow, an undrafted player out of the University of Houston, can barely hold the weight of his pads let alone the Chargers’ offense. He has carried the ball 36 times for just 125 yards in 11 games.
It will be up to the wily veteran under center to put the Chargers’ offense on his back in relief of the inexperienced back.
However, Rivers has too often struggled to overcome San Diego’s poor offensive line and injury-plagued roster, forcing him to make poor decisions with the football and further drive the Chargers’ offense into the ground.
Rivers leads the league with 17 interceptions through 13 games. He has thrown 10 interceptions in his last four starts.
San Diego Union-Tribune’s Tom Krasovic bashed Rivers for his “decision-making and accuracy” after his ugly performance in the Chargers’ 16-28 loss to the Carolina Panthers last week. He completed just 21 of 39 passes for 236 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also added two lost fumbles to his already abysmal performance.
Oakland’s defense is more than capable of applying similar pressure on Rivers this week, so a similar result is to be expected.
Rivers is still capable of heroic feats any time he is under center. But with the run game now falling to the wayside, his cape is just too heavy for him to take flight.