5 keys to victory for Raiders vs. Chargers in Week 17
By John Buhler
This will be insanely difficult. Even if the Raiders were at full strength, containing the outstanding edge players of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram for the Chargers was going to be close to impossible. This is the best pass-rushing tandem in football and that should absolutely frighten Derek Carr and the Raiders’ offense.
Keep in mind that Pro Bowl left tackle Donald Penn is out for the season with an injured foot. While Marshall Newhouse would have done a fine job sliding over from right tackle to left tackle to try to keep Bosa at bay, seeing Raiders offensive lineman Vadal Alexander go into concussion protocol last week only makes things worse.
If Alexander is out, that would keep Newhouse at right tackle to try to stop Ingram. Tight end Jared Cook is not much of a blocking tight end, so expect to see a lot of Lee Smith to try to chip Ingram to help out Newhouse. Moving into left tackle would be rookie David Sharpe, who has played sparingly this season.
Bosa may be a young player as well, but he was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2016 despite playing in only 12 games for the then San Diego Chargers. Los Angeles will be able to get pressure on Carr off the edge, but it can’t be on every other play. Otherwise, the Raiders have no shot at pulling off this Week 17 upset.