Vincent Jackson has given Philip Rivers the deep threat that he has been looking for.  He has caught 29 passes for 561 yards (19.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Jackson has nice size at WR which allows Rivers to essentially just throw the ball up in his direction and let him go get it.  It’s looking like Vincent Jackson is going to be a Pro Bowler this season if he can just keep up the pace he’s on and stay healthy.

In week #1 these two teams played on Monday Night Football in Oakland and the Chargers snuck out of town with a 24-20 win.  The teams look very different right now as the Raiders are only averaging 8.9 points per game and 227.6 yards of total offense per game.  The Raiders will come out running the football with Justin Fargas against the soft run defense of the Chargers which is allowing 137.7 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  The Raiders need to keep the ball on the ground to protect JaMarcus Russell who has turned the ball over 13 times already this season (5 lost fumbles, 8 interceptions).  The Chargers will be keying on stopping TE Zach Miller who is the best receiver the Raiders have to offer.

The Chargers will come out throwing the ball against the Raiders to get them out of their gamplan.  Philip Rivers will likely be aiming for Vincent Jackson deep and Antonio Gates on the short stuff.  The Raiders are allowing 169.7 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry so the Chargers hope that LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles can give the team some balance on offense in this game. 

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 34, RAIDERS 13

24-year old Eric Weddle is playing well for the Chargers this season.   He has played in all six games this season and he has 38 tackles, he has defensed 2 passes, has 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and he has 1 interception (which he returned for a TD).  The Chargers really need to play better on run defense as it’s not good to have your safety making so many tackles.

The San Diego Chargers (3-3) dominated the Kansas City Chiefs (1-6) Sunday, getting a solid performance from the whole team.  Phillip Rivers had a very good game for the Chargers and got them off to a quick start.  Rivers went 18/30 for 268 yards and three touchdowns.  Two of those touchdowns came in the first quarter and the Chargers built a big early lead.  Rivers and receiver Vincent Jackson had a big day together, as they hooked up for a 51-yard reception not once, but twice.  Jackson finished the game with five catches for 142 yards and a touchdown.  The Chargers running game finally came alive, with LaDainian Tomlinson leading the attack.  LT had 71 yards on 23 carries (3.1 avg) and Darren Sproles did a lot of damage on only a few opportunities.  He had 41 yards on five carries (8.2 avg) and also caught three passes for 58 yards.  The Chargers need this type of productivity out of LT and Sproles, and if they can get them to play like this against the better teams, they will put themselves right back in the conversation of a Super Bowl appearance.

The Chargers defense did not have much of a challenge against this Chiefs offense.  They were able to pressure Chiefs’ quarterback Matt Cassel all game, sacking him four times and intercepting him three times.  Cassel finished the game 10/25 for 97 yards.  His injury plagued offensive line was no match for the Chargers pressure D.  Jacob Hester and the special teams gave a big contribution in the fourth quarter, when Hester blocked Dustin Colquitt’s punt and recovered it in the endzone for a touchdown.  The Chargers need an effort like this when they play the good teams, as the offense, defense, and special teams all contributed to this win.  They get to go against another weak opponent next week though, as they are at home against the Oakland Raiders next game.

The San Diego Chargers (2-3) are coming off two straight losses and need to get themselves back into AFC West contention.  They should be able to get their record back to .500 this week as they are taking on the Kansas City Chiefs (1-5).  The Chiefs have been improving each week and are coming off their first win of the year, so the Chargers cannot overlook their opponent.  Larry Johnson is the Chiefs’ biggest weapon, even though he is only averaging 2.7 yards per carry.  With the Chargers defense giving up 141 rushing yards per game Johnson may have a break out game.

The Chargers defense may have some difficulty slowing down the Chiefs running game, but the Chargers offense should be too much for the Chiefs defense to handle.  Phillip Rivers and the Chargers passing game is putting up nearly 300 yards per game (284 avg) and LaDainian Tomlinson started to look like the old LT last week with 100 total yards (70 rushing, 30 receiving).  They also have Darren Sproles, so they should not have a problem with a Chiefs defense that gives up 380 yards per game.  The Chiefs may be able to stick around in the first half, but the Chargers are too good for them to stay close the whole game.  I think the Chargers will win convincingly and show that they are still one of the top teams in the AFC despite their poor record.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  San Diego Chargers 34, Kansas City Chiefs 17