Oakland Raiders Week 17 Matchup Breakdown

Oakland Raiders @ Los Angeles Chargers
12/31/17 @ 4:25 PM EST

The Los Angeles Chargers, who need to win and get some help to make the playoffs opened as a 7.5-point favorite over the struggling Raiders, who are 6-9 and who have lost three straight games.

The large points spread is understandable since the Chargers have something to play for and the floundering Raiders. who are the NFL’s biggest disappointment after going 12-4 last season and ending their 14-year playoff drought. Now, however, Oakland is going to finish with a losing season if the fifth time in the past six seasons. The home Chargers will also be more rested that the Raiders, who had to travel home from playing across the country in Philadelphia on Monday night. Now, the Raiders will hit the air again Saturday, for a short trip to Southern California.

he over/under line in this game opened at 47.5 points. That may be high. The Raiders’ offense has been stagnant, and its defense has been playing better in the past five games since John Pagano took over for the fired Ken Norton Jr. as defensive coordinator.

No Oakland game has totaled more than 41 points in the past six games, including a 19-10 Week 16 loss at Philadelphia. The Raiders have been struggling mightily on offense. Oakland has scored more than 17 points jut twice in the past six games. One of their biggest problem is they start slow. As NBC Sports Bay Area pointed out this week, Oakland — which lost to the Chargers at home, 17-16, in October, has scored just a total of 10 points in the first quarter of their last seven games. That smacks of a team that struggles getting going.

One thing bettors likely won’t have to worry about is whether Oakland plays hard. A lack of effort has not been an issue. The problem has all been execution. The Raiders played hard against the Eagles even though they were officially eliminated from playoff contention the day before the game. Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio may be coaching for his job against the Chargers, who will will have his team focused.

The best part of the Raiders lately has been their defense. It is far from perfect, but it is playing better especially against the pass. Cornerbacks Sean Smith and T.J. Carrie have been playing well under Pagano and the pass-rush has been stronger. Still, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and top receiving option Keenan Allen will challenge Oakland, which has been planning may beatable quarterback such as Paxton Lynch, Geno Smith and Nick Foles during their resurgence.

But the biggest issue, again, is the offense, Oakland quarterback Derek Carr has regressed. He was terrible in Philadelphia. He looked more like a fellow backup like Foles than the MVP candidate he was last year. Oakland’s offense has been in the dumps since Week 3. There is no reason to think it will get out of its funk in the final game. Plus, the Chargers can play defense. Los Angeles has 41 sacks and Joey Basa and Melvin Ingram have 21.5 sacks between them. They can will challenge Oakland rookie left tackle David Sharpe. He played well in his first NFL start against the Eagles as an injury replacement for Donald Penn. Yet, the Chargers will challenge Sharpe.

At this point, the Oakland offense simply doesn’t look capable of scoring enough points to win a game against a quality defense. Thus, a shocking 6-10 season may be in store for Oakland.

Prediction: Chargers 20, Raiders 17.

Post
Bill Williamson has been covering the NFL for 21 straight seasons. He has been a newspaper beat writer in four NFL cities and he spent eight years covering the league at ESPN.

Hot NFL Stories