San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders Spread

The Oakland Raiders (8-7) are still in the hunt for an AFC West title. Unfortunately, they don’t control their own destiny. They’ll need to win and get some help when they host the the San Diego Chargers (7-8) Sunday.

The Raiders are currently listed as a three-point favorite with the total set at 49.

Oakland, who kept its division title hopes alive with a 16-13 overtime victory against the Kansas City Chiefs last Saturday, can win the West and secure the No. 4 seed in the AFC playoffs with a win and a Denver Broncos loss.

Even if the Broncos win, there is still a chance Oakland can earn the final wild card slot as long as it defeats the Chargers. It will need the Cincinnati Bengals to lose and either (or both) the Tennessee Titans to lose or the New York Jets to win.

Carson Palmer will likely have to play better than he did last week for the Raiders to hold up on their end of the bargain. Palmer completed 16 of 26 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown but was picked off twice against the Chiefs. Four completions, including the touchdown toss, went to Denarius Moore, who led the team with 94 receiving yards.

Michael Bush led the way on the ground with 70 yards on 23 carries.

The Chargers were eliminated from playoff contention with last week’s 38-10 loss to the Detroit Lions.

After playing near-perfect football during a three-game winning streak, Philip Rivers struggled against the Lions. He completed just 28 of 53 passes for 299 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Six passes, including the touchdown strike, found Malcom Floyd, who led the team with 95 receiving yards.

Ryan Mathews led the team in rushing with 58 yards on 11 totes.

The Chargers have won 13 of the last 16 in this series, but the Raiders have won the last three, including a 24-17 victory in the most recent meeting on Nov. 10.

The Chargers are 7-2 against the spread in their last nine meetings in Oakland, but 0-5 against the number in the last five meetings overall with the Raiders.

As far as the total is concerned, the under has been the play. These two have finished under the total in nine of the last 14 meetings with one push.

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