Chargers (

23.5) at
Raiders (

26)

Game Overview ::

By mike johnson >>

• The status of Josh Jacobs (calf injury) clouds the outlook of the Raiders offense and this game as a whole.
• Expect a competitive game – despite mediocre records, these teams combined have lost by more than one score only three times.
• Elite on-paper matchups await both teams in the areas that they prefer to attack.

How los angeles Will Try To Win ::

The Chargers offense is a high-octane unit that is aggressive and fast-moving. They lead the league in both pass rate and tempo, which is to be expected when you have a young stud quarterback with a cannon for an arm, talented wide receivers, and an all-world running back whose best skill set is his receiving ability. This week they have to be licking their chops as they are set to face the league’s worst defense by Football Outsiders’ DVOA metrics and PFF’s 27th-graded coverage unit. The Raiders defense has surrendered 20+ points to everyone but Russell Wilson this season, making it a safe bet that the Chargers offense has a reasonable scoring floor in this game.

Perhaps even more alarming for the Raiders defense in this matchup than their cumulative statistics this season is the fact that they have the bottom-ranked pass defense in the NFL despite facing only the 19th-highest pass rate in the NFL. This means that the Chargers pass-heavy game approach has the potential to light up the Raiders in ways that other teams have not fully leveraged. Geno Smith just set his season high in passing yards last week against the Raiders, and Justin Herbert should have a field day against a zone-heavy coverage scheme for the Raiders that will allow him to pick them apart with his personnel that is best suited for working the short to intermediate areas of the field. There isn’t anything too crazy to expect from the Chargers approach to this game, as they have a clear way that they want to play, and this matchup suits their strengths perfectly.

How las vegas Will Try To Win ::