Betting Odds
The 4-10 San Diego Chargers and the 6-8 Oakland Raiders will get things started this week in the NFL with a Thursday night clash at the Oakland County Coliseum. Game time for this AFC West tilt is set for 8:25 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on the NFL Network.
San Diego continues to struggle through a lost season and at 4-10 straight-up on the year it has already locked-up a share of last place in the AFC West. This past Sunday in a rare 30-14 victory against Miami as one-point home favorites, the Chargers improved to 6-8 against the spread. They have now covered in three of their last four games and the total has stayed UNDER in five of their last six contests.
Uncertainty over where San Diego will call home next season along with a faltering offense that is ranked 25th in the NFL this season in scoring are just two of the reasons for this team’s dismal record. It also does not help that the Chargers cannot run the ball and that their defense is 19th in the league in both yards (357.6) and points (24.9) allowed. They still have veteran quarterback Philip Rivers running the show, but there is only so much one player can do in a team sport. He did have one of his better games of the year against the Dolphins with 311 yards passing and three scores while completing 26-of-36 attempts.
The Raiders’ early season optimism of getting back to the playoffs for the first time since 2002 continues to fade with just two SU wins in their last seven games. This past Sunday they fell to Green Bay 30-20 as four-point home favorites to end their chance at posting a winning season. Oakland (6-8 SU, 7-7ATS) has now failed to cover in four of its last six games and the total has gone OVER in two of its last three outings.
There is still some solid signs for the future in Oakland, even though this is another NFL team that is not quite sure where it will be playing its home games next season. Quarterback Derek Carr has passed for 3,589 yards and 30 touchdowns with rookie sensation Amari Cooper leading the way with 68 receptions for a team-high 1,040 yards. The Raiders’ defense is ranked 28th in the league against the pass and 23rd in total yards allowed (366.9), but they have a bright young star in defensive end Khalil Mack. With one sack in the loss to the Packers, he continues to lead the league in that category with 15 sacks on the year.
The Chargers have lost six of their last seven road games SU, but they have covered ATS in four of their last five games played on the road. The total has stayed UNDER in five of their last seven road games.
The Raiders have lost four of their last five home games both SU and ATS with the total going OVER in six of their last eight games at home.
Head-to-head in this AFC West showdown, San Diego has won nine of its last 11 road games against Oakland SU, but it is just 2-4 ATS in its last six trips to the Coliseum. The total has gone OVER in six of the last eight meetings in Oakland.
