Chargers Travel to Oakland as Big Road Favorites

The Los Angeles Chargers are coming off their biggest victory of the season, and are looking to continue their strong play as they travel to Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to battle the hapless Oakland Raiders. Looking for their sixth straight win, the Chargers are 10-point favorites over Oakland, a team trying to avoid a fifth straight loss. The total for this divisional game is set at 50.5 points.

Chargers vs Raiders Game Center

WHY I’M BETTING ON THE CHARGERS THIS SUNDAY

The formula for this game is simple. One team is very good, sits one game out of first place in the division and is in the middle of a tough playoff race. The other team is very, very, very bad and is showing all the red flags of a team that has quit … halfway through the season.

We know what the Chargers bring: lots of offense. They average nearly 400 yards of offense per game, Philip Rivers is having a career season, Melvin Gordon has established himself among the league’s truly elite running backs and their receiving corps is more than just Keenan Allen.

What’s really clicking for Los Angeles, however, is a defense that’s starting to round into shape. The Chargers finished 2017 allowing the third-fewest points in the NFL, but started this year on a rocky note. Don’t look now, but they’ve held opponents to under 20 points in four straight games; they’re starting to hit their stride.

For the Raiders, it’s just bad. All bad. Their defense has given up the second-most points in the NFL, yielded the most rushing yards and has forced just six turnovers, the second-fewest in the league. They’ve topped 10 points just once in the past four games and are coming off a 34-3 embarrassment to San Francisco and third-string QB Nick Mullens in his NFL debut.

While this has the makings of a trap game for Los Angeles, the Chargers know they cannot afford to drop these games if they want to stay within reach of the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West. I don’t think they fall victim on Sunday, and they take care of business in a big way.

CHARGERS FINALLY GET THEIR SIGNATURE WIN

Los Angeles is sitting pretty at 6-2, with a high-profile offense and the defense rounding into form.

But entering Week 9, their five wins had come against teams with losing records (and a combined 10-31-1 record). Their only two matchups with teams above .500 had resulted in losses to the Chiefs and Rams, both currently 8-1. They beat bad teams but lose to the elite; but where in the middle pack do the Chargers sit?

We got an idea following Week 9, as the Chargers traveled to Seattle, for years one of the hardest places for a visiting team to get a win, and came away with a gritty 25-17 victory.

Sitting at 6-2 and finally earning a notable victory, the Chargers now face three more teams with losing records in Oakland, Denver and Arizona, and could potentially be 9-2 going into the season’s final stretch. They’re looking like they could be a serious Super Bowl contender for the first time in years.

THE OAKLAND EXILE CONTINUES

Another week, another household Raiders name is exiled from coach Jon Gruden’s new regime.

First it was Khalil Mack traded. Then it was Marshawn Lynch’s injury. Then Amari Cooper was traded. Now, following Oakland’s putrid effort in a 34-3 shellacking on Thursday Night Football, the Raiders have placed defensive end Bruce Irvin on waivers.

The seven-year pro, who signed with the Raiders prior to the 2016 season, logged eight sacks last season and 15 in his first two years with the team. He was named defensive captain prior to the start of the season and led Oakland with three sacks, as the team has an NFL-low seven for the year.

He only played nine snaps in Thursday’s loss, and following his release, the team has even less experience — and leadership — on its roster. The Raiders have already called it quits on the 2018 season, with their main goal appearing to be the first overall pick. Feel free to bet against them as much as possible.