Oakland Raiders Vs. San Diego Chargers: Fan Preview
This is it for the Oakland Raiders. It's Week 17, they're facing their long-time rival the San Diego Chargers, and the Raiders need to win this game in order to even have a shot at making the playoffs. On December 26, I wrote an article breaking down the ways the Raiders can get into the playoffs, but here is a quick overview:
AFC West title: Raiders win and Denver Broncos lose.
AFC wild card: Raiders win, Tennessee Titans lose, and Cincinnati Bengals lose.
Both of those scenarios can easily happen as the Broncos have not looked great lately on either side of the ball and will be playing against the ramped up defense of the Kansas City Chiefs. And the Titans play the Houston Texans, while the Bengals play the Baltimore Ravens, meaning both the Titans and Bengals could easily lose.
However it all starts in Oakland with the Raiders and the Chargers, in a must-win game for the Raiders:
Chargers Playing Spoiler
The Chargers will not be in the AFC Playoffs this year. After a 4-1 start entering the Bye Week, the Chargers fell apart in the middle of the season. They lost six straight games from Week 7 - Week 12 and effectively knocked themselves out of the playoffs losing games they should have won. Now the Chargers will look to take their offense and beat the Raiders into the ground, crushing their playoff hopes. The Chargers will stop at nothing to beat the Raiders, using any and everything in their arsenal to make sure their division foe doesn't take down the AFC West crown or the wild card spot.
Carson Palmer and Michael Bush Must Step Up
Carson Palmer hasn't really had that game to "wow"
the Raiders or its fans since joining the team in the middle of the season. This would be the time for Palmer to step up and do just that. In order for the Raiders to take home this game, he needs to be near perfect against the Chargers and their passing game has to get help from Oakland's running game. If Michael Bush can't get it going on the ground, effectively forcing the defense up into the box and Carson Palmer throws two or more interceptions, I don't see the Raiders pulling this game out against the Chargers. Not to mention, the Raiders can't kill themselves with penalties either.
Raiders' Defense
Much like the offense, the defense needs to step up and silence Philip Rivers, who is having a bad year for the Chargers. While Rivers has thrown for 24 touchdowns - his lowest since 2007 - he has also thrown a career-high 19 interceptions with a quarterback rating of just 86.6; after finishing the last three years (2008-2010) with ratings of at least 101.8. The Raiders defense will have to show focus, intensity, and discipline to stop the Chargers offense and help the team to a win.
As much as I want Oakland to win this matchup, I don't see if happening for the Raiders mainly because of their propensity to turn the ball over and hurt themselves with penalties.
Prediction: Raiders 17 - Chargers 24
David is co-founder of wrapupp sports blog where they post fresh content daily and present sports blogs and sports opinions - all with a West Coast bias. Growing up in the Bay Area, David is a huge supporter of all the local sports teams; the Giants, Athletics, Warriors, Sharks, 49ers, and Raiders. His one fault, admittedly, as many of his friends and family would say, is his love for the Los Angeles Lakers. Growing up, Magic Johnson was his favorite basketball player and he fell in love with the team. He chalks it up to, "Not knowing any better". Now his love for sports has turned just as academic as it is intuitive and he follows most all sports all over the nation.
You can follow David on Twitter: @officialwrapupp
Sources:
NFL.com. Raiders vs. Chargers Preview. NFL 2011.
NFL.com. Player Stats: Philip Rivers. NFL 2011.
More from David Mehrwein and the Yahoo! Contributor Network:
San Francisco 49ers Have Eight Players Selected to Pro Bowl: Fan Reaction
Top 2012 Pro Bowl Snubs: Fan Opinion
49ers Release WR Braylon Edwards: Fan Reaction
Saints Win; Accused of Running Up the Score: Fan Reaction
Oakland Raiders' Season Comes Down to Week 17: Fan's Take
