The Chargers have won the last nine games against the Raiders including 5 out of the last six in Oakland.  Still, the Chargers can’t look past the Raiders who match up semi well with them in some areas.  The Chargers have not run the ball too well this season as they are only averaging 97.3 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry.  With the way Philip Rivers has played so far this season the gameplan could be to throw the ball to get the lead and then grind away at the clock with the running game.  The Chargers have only allowed 2 sacks this season but the Raiders will be blitzing him a lot as they already have 8 sacks this season.  With the Raiders having a effective pass rush it might be smart for the Chargers to work on the short passing game to the RBs and Antonio Gates to loosen up the Raiders’ secondary before going deep to WRs Vincent Jackson and Chris Chambers.

The Raiders will attempt to do what they do the best and run the football against the Chargers with Darren McFadden and Michael Bush.  The Raiders are averaging an amazing 182.7 yards rushing per game this season and 5.1 yards per carry.  The Chargers are allowing a stunning 5.0 ypc this season so the Raiders should get there running game going early and often.  The Raiders should take the training wheels off of JaMarcus Russell and let him throw the ball deep off of play action against a Chargers’ pass defense that is allowing 284.7 yards passing per game.

PREDICTION:  SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 27, OAKLAND RAIDERS 20

The Chargers have signed 26-year old DT Ian Scott to a 1-year deal.  Scott last played in 2006 with the Chicago Bears but if he’s healthy he should help out the run defense of the Chargers which is allowing 109.3 yards rushing and 5.0 yards per carry so far this season.  Scott has played in 49 games (33 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 95 tackles, has 2 sacks, has defensed 13 passes and he has intercepted 1 pass.  This was a good low risk/high reward move for the Chargers as Scott will help them if he is healthy.

The Chargers made the Jets pay for every mistake they made on Monday Night.  Philip Rivers was very solid again as he completed 19 of 25 passes for 250 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 interception.  LaDainian Tomlinson got a lot of work in this game but yards were hard to come by.  He carried the ball 26 times for 67 yards (2.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 3 passes for 20 yards (6.7 avg).  Darren Sproles also had a solid game rushing for 38 yards on 5 carries (7.6 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 39 yards (19.5 avg).  Vincent Jackson led the way for the Chargers in the passing game with 74 yards on 3 receptions (24.7 avg).  Chris Chambers, Antonio Gates and Mike Tolbert each caught a TD pass in this game.  The Chargers finished this game with 107 yards rushing on 35 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 25 passes for 250 yards.

The Chargers were very opportunistic on defense against the Jets in this game.  CB Antonio Cromartie led the way for the Chargers’ defense with 9 tackles and 2 interceptions (one he returned 52-yards for a TD).  Safety Eric Weddle (7 tackles, interception) and linebacker Jyles Tucker (6 tackles, 2 sacks) each also had very solid games on Monday Night Football.  The Jets finished up with 41 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 33 of 47 passes for 267 yards.  The Chargers improved to 1-2 on the season with this win.

A bad call ruined a outstanding offensive effort by the Chargers who rolled up 456 yards of offense despite only having possession of the football for 26 minutes in this game.  Philip Rivers was outstanding as he completed 21 of 33 passes for 377 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 interception.  LaDainian Tomlinson only carried the ball 10 times for 26 yards (2.6 ypc) before leaving the game with an injured toe.  Darren Sproles replace L.T. and he had the game of his life.  Sproles carried the ball 7 times for 53 yards (7.6 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 72 yards (36.0 avg).  One of Sproles receptions went for a 66-yard TD.  Sproles also returned 5 kickoffs for 192 yards (38.4 avg) and one of them he returned 103 yards for a TD.  Chris Chambers also had himself a great game catching 4 passes for 83 yards (20.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs (48, 15 yards).  Vincent Jackson pitched in with 6 grabs for 73 yards (12.2 avg) yesterday.  The Chargers finished up with 80 yards rushing on 18 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 33 passes for 376 yards.

CB Quentin Jammer (11 tackles) and CB Steve Gregory (8 tackles) led a very dull effort by the Chargers’ Defense yesterday.  The Broncos finished up with 145 yards rushing on 24 carries (6.0 ypc) and they also completed 36 of 50 passes for 341 yards.  The banged up Chargers are off to a 0-2 start this season.

The Chargers swept the series against the Broncos last season outscoring them a stunning 64-6!  The Chargers will likely let it all hang out on offense against the Broncos.  The Broncos allowed 150 yards rushing (4.8 ypc) against the Raiders last week so LaDainian Tomlinson will likely get his fair share of yards in this game.  If Tomlinson gets going then Philip Rivers should have a good game.  He threw 3 TD passes last week and he will look to Antonio Gates on the short stuff and Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson on the deep patterns. 

The Broncos will mix it up on offense against a Chargers’ defense that’s banged up a little bit.  Jay Cutler will likely have time to throw the ball against the Chargers and that could be big trouble for them.  That’s because Brandon Marshall is back and he will team with Darrell Jackson and Eddie Royal to give the CBs of the Chargers fits in this game.  Also, TE Tony Scheffler could cause problems over the middle against the safeties of the Chargers.  RBs Selvin Young, Andre Hall and Michael Pittman should have some success on the ground against a Chargers’ defense that allowed 142 yards rushing (4.9 ypc) last week.

PREDICTION:  DENVER BRONCOS 35, SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 31