Things may not be going well for the Raiders lately, but oddsmakers still give them the slight edge of the rival Chargers tonight. The Raiders are 4-point favorites on Thursday Night Football according to BetMGM.
A game-winning field goal last week for the Chargers gave them the win over the Falcons. Just three weeks ago the Raiders suffered their worst loss of the season to those Falcons, falling 43-6.
Since then the Raiders nearly (should have) lost to the winless Jets and were beaten up by the Colts. This had the team finally cut ties with defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. Defensive line coach Rod Marinelli was promoted to interim DC for the remaining three games.
It took two consecutive pass breakups by Isaiah Johnson in the end zone to preserve the Raiders win over the Chargers in their first meeting this season.
This time the Raiders are banged up. They will be missing six starters, including three of whom were lost just this week — DE Clelin Ferrell (shoulder), LB Nicholas Morrow (concussion), and S Johnathan Abram (concussion). The others are DT Maliek Collins, S Jeff Heath, and CB Damon Arnette.
Additionally the team placed WR Henry Ruggs III on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
If the Raiders offense plays like they’ve proven they’re capable this season, they should put up a lot of points. But if the defense plays like they’ve shown they’re prone, they will give up a lot of yards and keep the Raiders’ offense off the field. Hard to know which will show up this week.
