
Los Angeles Chargers at Oakland Raiders (TNF)
After weeks away from home, the Oakland Raiders will play their second home game in five days, as they welcome the Los Angeles Chargers to RingCentral Coliseum on Thursday night. The Raiders are playing at a high level right now, as are the Chargers, who have won two straight entering Thursday’s matchup.
Los Angeles has gotten stellar play from their defense in recent weeks, beating the Chicago Bears on the road, and the holding Aaron Rodgers in check this past Sunday. On the other side of the coin, Derek Carr has this Raiders offense humming, so it will be interesting to see which side grabs the advantage on Thursday night.
Oakland is a bit banged up right now, as edge rusher Arden Key appears to have broken his foot, and both Karl Joseph and Trent Brown had MRIs on Monday. The Raiders have a few days to get healthy for this Chargers team, who will be looking to prove that they are the legitimate playoff team they were expected to be this offseason.
I give the Raiders the edge in this one, as they are playing home on the short week, and it is very hard for teams to travel a couple days after playing. Oakland is the better team right now, and they will show the home fans another stellar effort under the bright lights of Thursday Night Football.