Thursday Night Football: Las Vegas Raiders vs. LA Chargers Preview, Odds, Prediction

Thursday Night Football takes place at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where the Raiders meet the LA Chargers. For the home team, this is the crucial match of the year so far. A loss here practically eliminates them from the playoff contention, and that is something nobody among the silver and black wants. The Chargers didn’t have any pressure since the year started, as they entered a rebuild. Their playoff hopes are long gone, and all the remaining games are used for making foundations for the upcoming campaign.

Preview

Raiders (-175) were blown away against the Indianapolis Colts in the previous round, 44-27, and that loss came at home. The guests from Indiana showed class, teaching the Raiders a lesson they won’t forget for a long time.

Something is bothering the offense, as Derek Carr and the boys made 11 turnovers on their previous 36 possessions. Carr had two picks vs. the Colts, but he threw two TD passes and ran for one, pretty much making up for all the mistakes.

The one guy who was way below his level was Josh Jacobs. His productivity was terrible – 49 rushing yards on 13 snaps. In the last three events, the young RB posted 131 yards on the ground, which is unacceptable for a player of his caliber.

Chargers (+155) have four wins and nine losses, but that is of no concern to them in this campaign. What Anthony Lynn wanted is to get a quarterback for the future, and his wish was fulfilled.

Justin Herbert wasn’t supposed to start right away, but Tyrod Taylor’s bizarre injury forced the Chargers’ head coach to push the rookie into the fire. He would eventually get a potential megastar, as Herbert already showed class.

The 6th pick from the latest draft is on pace to set a new record for the most TD passes by a rookie and has six 300+yards matches in one season, needing one more to set that record as well. Regarding the touchdowns, Herbert threw 25 so far, two fewer than Baker Mayfield in his first NFL season.

Latest News

WR Henry Ruggs III is out for this match, being placed on the IR reserve/COVID 19 list. Jonathan Abram, Clein Ferrell, Nicholas Morrow, Jeff Heath, and Damon Arnette are all out for this match among the Raiders.

Melvin Ingram, Ryan Groy, Trey Pipkins, and free safety Derwin James are all ineligible for the Chargers.

Head to Head Matches

The first game this season, at the SoFi Stadium, ended with the Raiders’ victory, 31-26. The guests had a more diversified attack, while on the other side, Chargers relied only upon Herbert and Keenan Allen.

Prediction

The guests are coming to town with several players who were limited with practice, and have issues with injuries. On the other side, the Raiders really don’t have a choice, and this is a “life or death” match for Jon Gruden’s unit. Only because of that, we back up their victory. Raiders have to win, and opposite to them is a mediocre team, with a 4-9 record. If they can’t overcome such an obstacle at home, then this unit doesn’t deserve the postseason.