The San Diego Chargers have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL this year.  They can play the role of the spoiler in what is likely Norv Turner’s last game as the head coach of the Chargers.  The Raiders won a hard fought game 16-13 in O.T. last weekend over the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium that kept their playoff hopes alive.  A win over the Chargers, coupled with a Broncos loss in Denver against the Chiefs would give the Raiders the AFC West title.  They also could get into the playoffs as a wildcard with a win over the Chargers and a lot of help tomorrow.  The Raiders beat the Chargers in San Diego, 24-17 earlier this year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers should have little problem moving the ball against the Raiders.  Ryan Mathews and Matt Tolbert should have success against a Raiders’ D that is allowing 135.0 yards rushing per game and an utterly amazing 5.1 yards per carry!  Even without a gimpy Vincent Jackson, Philip Rivers should have little problem throwing the ball down the field to TE Antonio Gates and WRs Malcom Floyd and Vincent Brown against a Raiders’ D that is giving up 247.5 yards passing per game so far this year.

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Chargers better tighten up the chinstraps in this game.  The Raiders are going to feed the ball to Michael Bush to set up deep passing off play action.  Michael Bush rushed for 157 yards on 30 carries against the Chargers the first time around.  If the Chargers can get a good pass rush on Carson Palmer, he will make the big mistake in this game.  Denarius Moore and Darrius Heyward-Bey’s speed will likely give the Chargers’ corners fits in this game.

PREDICTION:  RAIDERS 33, CHARGERS 30

The Chargers are surging right now as they are only 1 game behind the Broncos in the AFC West.  The have won three games in a row, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 109-38!  The Lions can clinch a wildcard spot in the playoffs with a win today.  They have won two games in a row.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers are going to likely come out throwing the ball as Philip Rivers has been hot lately.  The Lions are going to bring the heat after Rivers, so his O-Line is going to have to step up.  If Rivers has time to throw the ball, he is going to make some big plays down the field to Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd.  Antonio Gates is going to give the Lions’ safeties and linebackers fits in this game.  If the Lions add extra DBs, it will play right into the Chargers’ hands as Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert have been outstanding running the ball and catching it out of the backfield so far this year.

When the Lions have the ball:  The Chargers are going to have to get after Matt Stafford in this game.  If Stafford has time to throw the ball, the Chargers are going to be in big trouble.  The Chargers are going to have to double cover WR Calvin Johnson and play man to man on everyone else.  Brandon Pettigrew, Tony Scheffler, Titus Young and Nate Burleson give Stafford a wealth of options in the passing game if the Chargers pay too much attention to Calvin Johnson.  RB Kevin Smith will give the Lions some ground support in this game.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 31, LIONS 30

If the Chargers want to keep their slim playoff chances alive, they need to beat the Ravens tomorrow night.  The Chargers have won two games in a row by a combined score of 75-24!  But, they aren’t playing the Jaguars or Bills this week!   The Ravens have won four games in a row by a combined score of 95-50!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers are going to try to stay balanced in this game.  The Ravens are only giving up 85.8 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry, so Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert are going to have to work for every yard they get in the running game.  They could play a huge role in the passing game though as the Ravens already have 45 sacks this year, which means Philip Rivers will have to get rid of the ball quickly…and Mathews and Tolbert have 45 catches each this year.  Antonio Gates will also likely get a lot of balls thrown his way as Rivers isn’t going to have a lot of time in the pocket.  The Chargers have an edge at WR due to the size of Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd, so Rivers might throw some balls down the field and up for grabs.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens win when they run the ball.  The Chargers are giving up 128.9 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry, so Ray Rice is likely licking his chops.  The Chargers don’t have much of a pass rush, so Joe Flacco is likely going to have time to throw the ball.  Flacco will likely be aiming deep for WRs Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith a lot in this game.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 24, CHARGERS 20

The San Diego Chargers looked pretty awesome last Monday Night against the Jaguars as everything seemed to click.  Rivers always plays well late in the year, so I expect him to have a big game against the Bills this Sunday.  The Bills have lost five games in a row.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers are going to come out throwing the ball against a secondary that is especially weak at cornerback right now.  Philip Rivers should have time to throw the ball, so look for WRs Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd to have big games this Sunday.  TE Antonio Gates is going to work over the middle for the Chargers this Sunday, and Rivers will have to be careful throwing to him as the Bills’ have ball hawking safeties.  RBs Mike Tolbert and Ryan Mathews are going to also get a lot of work both running the ball and catching it out of the backfield.

When the Bills have the ball:  The Chargers are going to have to try to shut down C.J. Spiller.  If Spiller gets a running game going for the Bills, the secondary is going to be in for a very long day.  The Chargers need to get a good pass rush on Ryan Fitzpatrick, because if he has time to throw the ball…he’s in for a big day.  WRs Steve Johnson, David Nelson and Brad Smith are all playing well right now and the Chargers are giving up 202.9 yards passing per game.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 34, BILLS 24

The Chargers have lost six games in a row now, and they have not looked too good doing it.  The Jaguars have lost two games in a row, costing head coach Jack Del Rio his job.  Mel Tucker will be making his head coaching debut on Monday Night Football for the Jaguars.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers are still a pass first team and I don’t look for that to change any time soon.  The Chargers are going to need to give Philip Rivers time to throw the ball if he’s going to have some success in this game.  He has been pretty awful this year for the Chargers, as he seems to be playing hurt.  He will likely keep the passing game short to TE Antonio Gates and RBs Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert.  Rivers will try to get the Jaguars’ secondary to move up a couple of steps before throwing bombs to Vincent Jackson.  Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert should also give the Chargers a decent running game on Monday Night.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Jaguars are going to feed the ball to Maurice Jones-Drew.  The Chargers are giving up 131.9 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry, so they might not even be able to stop Jones-Drew despite keying on him.  WR Mike Thomas and TE Marcedes Lewis are rookie QB Blaine Gabbert’s top targets in the passing game, which doesn’t scare the Chargers’ D too much.  The Chargers will try to jump start the pass rush against Gabbert, who has been already sacked 28 times this year.

PREDICTION:  JAGUARS 17, CHARGERS 13

The Chargers have lost five straight games since they beat the Broncos 29-24 in Denver.  The Broncos have changed QBs since the loss to the Chargers and they are 4-1 since then, including a 3-0 record on the road.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers always seem to play better late in the year, and they better hope that trend starts tomorrow.  The Chargers will need to come out throwing the ball in an effort to get a big lead and take the Broncos out of their game plan.  For that to happen, the Chargers are going to have to give Philip Rivers enough time to throw the ball.  The Broncos only have 7 interceptions this year and they are giving up 242.3 yards passing per game, so if Rivers is ever going to turn things around…..tomorrow is the day.  WR Vincent Jackson is a huge matchup problem for the Broncos’ secondary, so he should have a huge game.  Antonio Gates and rookie Vincent Brown are also likely to have solid games tomorrow for the Chargers.  Mike Tolbert and Ryan Mathews will give the Chargers a decent running game tomorrow while also catching a few passes.

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Chargers are going to have to sell out to stop the run.  If they stop Willis McGahee and Tim Tebow from running the ball, this game should be a blowout win for the Chargers.   That is a big if though, as the Broncos are averaging 154.9 yards rushing per game and 4.9 yards per carry so far this year.  The Chargers will probably double cover WR Eric Decker and force Tim Tebow to beat them by throwing to someone else.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 30, BRONCOS 17

The Chargers have looked awful the last four weeks.  They have lost four games in a row by a combined score of 119-96.  The Bears on the other hand, are red hot right now.  The Bears have won four games in a row by a combined score of 130-65!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers will likely come out running the ball with Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert against a Bears’ D that is allowing 106.7 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry so far this year.  Philip Rivers has not played well this year and part of the reason for that is that he has been sacked 25 times already this year.  Rivers makes bad throws after he has been hit hard a couple of times, so the O-Line is going to have to keep him clean if they are going to have success through the air tomorrow.  Vincent Jackson, Vincent Brown, Antonio Gates and the RBs are going to be Rivers’ key receivers tomorrow.

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears are very balanced offensively, but Matt Forte is the main man.  Forte has 869 yards rushing and 439 yards receiving so far this year!  The Chargers are giving up 127.9 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry, so Forte is likely going to get his fair share of yards in this game.  The Bears have been going with max protection when throwing the ball and it has benefitted QB Jay Cutler big time.  The Chargers are going to have to get after Cutler, as he is good throwing the ball down the field when he’s comfortable in the pocket.

PREDICTION:  BEARS 31, CHARGERS 21

The Chargers are coming off a really tough loss on Halloween, 23-20 in O.T. to the Chiefs in Kansas City.  The Chargers are 3-0 at home this year as they have outscored their opponents 70-50, but they have not played any team close to the caliber of the Packers.  The Packers are coming off their bye week.  They have outscored their opponents by 12.7 points per game so far this year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  With the way Philip Rivers has played this year, the Chargers should probably come out running the ball.  Mike Tolbert is the lone RB that is healthy, so expect for him to have a heavy workload against a Packers’ D that is giving up 102.1 yards rushing and 4.6 yards per carry.  The Packers’ D is a bunch of ballhawks and the front seven will be blitzing to try to force Philip Rivers into the kinds of mistakes he has been prone to this year.  Rivers will have to be careful with the football, but he still needs to get the ball into the hands of Vincent Jackson, Malcom Floyd and Antonio Gates if he wants to win this game.

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers are going to spread the field and attack the Chargers with Aaron Rodgers’ right arm.  The Chargers need to mount a good pass rush, or Rodgers is going to torture their defense!  Rodgers has a 125.7 QB Rating so far this year and the Packers are averaging 323.4 yards passing per game so far this year.  The Packers will also give the ball to James Starks and Ryan Grant if the Chargers overplay the pass tomorrow.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 33, CHARGERS 24

The San Diego Chargers laid an egg last weekend against the Jets in New Jersey.  They had to fight tooth and nail to beat the Chiefs back in Week #3 in San Diego, 20-17.  The Chiefs have won three games in a row to get back into the hunt for the AFC West.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chiefs have next to no pass rush (6 sacks), so Philip Rivers should have time to throw the ball.  The Chiefs are giving up 235.8 yards passing per game so far this year, but they also have 11 interceptions, so Rivers is going to need to be careful with the ball.  The Chiefs are going to need WRs Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd to step up tomorrow and be the players they were last year.  Mike Tolbert is out for this game, so Ryan Mathews and Jacob Hester will have to handle carrying the load in the running game on Monday Night, against a Chiefs’ D that is allowing 125.5 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry so far this year.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs are likely going to come out running the ball with Jackie Battle, Thomas Jones and Dexter McCluster against a Chargers’ D that is allowing 121.7 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  The Chargers need to get a pass rush on Matt Cassel, because he throws pickoffs when he’s under duress.  If he has time to throw the ball, he might make some plays down the field to Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston and rookie Jonathan Baldwin.

PREDICTION:  CHIEFS 20, CHARGERS 17

Norv Turner and Rex Ryan have waged a war of words this week in the media.  It will be interesting to see how this game plays out because of that.  The Chargers had two weeks to get ready for the Jets, but that’s negated by the fact that the game is in New Jersey, where the Jets are 3-0.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers know that the Jets are going to be blitzing like crazy in this game, which is going to limit Philip Rivers’ shots down the field.  But, he gets Antonio Gates back this weekend and he is a big mis-match for the safeties of the Jets.  The Jets have been soft against the run, so look for the Chargers to make sure that Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert get a lot of work this week.  Rivers is a gunslinger though, so look for him to take some shots down the field to WRs Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd, who are much bigger than the Jets’ corners.

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are going to likely come out running the ball with Shonn Greene.  The Chargers are giving up 113.6 yards per game on the ground and 4.6 yards per carry so far this year.  Look for the Jets to also get the ball to a likely very inspired LaDainian Tomlinson in this game.  Mark Sanchez has been sacked 15 times already this year and he makes mistakes when pressured.  But, if he has time to throw the ball, he has some good weapons in Santonio Holmes, Dustin Keller and Plaxico Burress.

PREDICTION:  JETS 23, CHARGERS 20