Only a few short days after being absolutely embarrassed at home by the Minnesota Vikings, the Las Vegas Raiders will once again take the field in front of their home crowd on Thursday night. Their opponent in Week 15 is a familiar one, as they will take on the Los Angeles Chargers with both teams sitting with 5-8 records on the 2023 season.
It will be a battle of backups in this one, as the Chargers lost quarterback Justin Herbert for the season in the team's loss to Denver this past weekend. On the flip side, the Raiders do not know who will be their starter under center as of writing this, as Aidan O'Connell could be replaced by either Jimmy Garoppolo or Brian Hoyer.
It has been a long time since the Raiders last victory, four weeks in fact, but the hope is that they are getting the Chargers at the right time.
Raiders vs Chargers early odds for 2023 NFL Week 15
According to the latest odds from FanDuel Sportsbook, the Raiders are home favorites in this one to start the betting week, as they are giving 3.0 points to the Chargers. Giving the points will come in at -104, while taking the 3.0 points, in other words taking the Chargers against the spread, the odds will be -118.
The over/under for the contest is set at 34.5 points currently, with the over coming in at -110 odds, and the under coming in at -110 as well. Betting the Raiders on the moneyline will come in at -154, while a moneyline bet on the Chargers is currently at +130.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Raiders vs Chargers early prediction for 2023 NFL Week 15
Week 15 brings an AFC West battle between these two hated rivals, but the struggles by both teams as of late takes a lot of the suspense out of this one. The Chargers have been one of the more disappointing teams in the NFL this season, while the Raiders, who looked to be turning the corner under Antonio Pierce, have gone back to being one of the worst in football in 2023.
Still, this is a very winnable game for the Silver and Black, as the Chargers offense should struggle against this upstart Las Vegas defense. Wide receiver Keenan Allen has not practiced this week, and could be out for this matchup as well, so the Chargers should be severely short-handed on that side of the ball on Thursday night.
In the end, I like the Raiders to take care of business at home against the Stick-led Chargers, but this one could certainly go the other way depending on who is active on Thursday night.
Final Score: Raiders 14, Chargers 10