Edge to Rivers, Bolts in Black Hole battle

Knock on wood if you are with Jon Gruden. The Raiders were the butt of jokes in August after appearing on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” documentary, which exposed the organization’s problems with mercurial wide receiver Antonio Brown. Gruden coddled Brown, but Brown is not missed. Gruden’s sharp playcalling has helped Derek Carr lead the league in completion percentage (.712), and rookie Josh Jacobs has developed into effective power runner.

Despite being away from home for six weeks, the Raiders (4-4) are closing in on their posted regular-season win total of six and remain in the race in the AFC West. The Chargers (4-5) take a two-game win streak into Thursday night’s matchup in Oakland.

Gruden and Chargers coach Anthony

Lynn each emphasize the ground game, which should eat clock and lead to a lower score. The Chargers rank eighth in the NFL in total defense (322.8 yards per game) and scoring defense (18.7) after shutting down Aaron Rodgers in Week 9. The Raiders rank 27th in total defense and 26th in scoring (27.0).

An offensive coordinator change boosted the Chargers against the Packers. Philip Rivers is 13-4-1 ATS in his past 18 regular-season games outside of Los Angeles, and the Chargers have covered four in a row at Oakland. The Chargers are 9-2 “Under” the total in their past 11 in the regular season. The Raiders opened -1 before sharp money flipped the favorite.

THE PLAYS: Chargers -1 and Under 49, half-unit each.

Matt Youmans is senior editor of VSiN.com and hosts The Edge (1-3 a.m., weekdays).