Rivers has one last chance to ruin Raiders at Coliseum
Raiders fans may not want to hear this, but Philip Rivers is actually a lot like them: He also hates to see the team leaving Oakland.
And why wouldn’t he? The 37-year-old has enjoyed more success at the Coliseum than any quarterback in NFL history.
Rivers gets one final shot to deliver more pain to the Raiders and their fans when the Chargers visit Thursday night, looking for their fifth straight victory over Oakland.
In a stadium where Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw, Joe Namath and Bob Griese could never win an NFL regular-season game despite a combined 10 tries, Rivers is the standard-bearer. He’s won more games (nine to runner-up Peyton Manning’s six), thrown more touchdowns (24 to Manning’s 14) and passed for more yards (3,498 to Manning’s 1,637) in Oakland than any of the other 162 opposing quarterbacks the Raiders have faced.
And, if anyone was keeping score, the brash Rivers probably leads all quarterbacks in trashtalking against the Raiders.
Here’s a closer look at what to look for when the teams meet for the 120th time in the 60th season of their AFC West rivalry:
Game essentials
Raiders (4-4) vs. Chargers (4-5) at Oakland Coliseum, Thursday at 5:20 p.m., Fox. ODDS: Chargers -1.
Three reasons for Raiders’ optimism
A CHANCE TO FLEX MUSCLES UP FRONT >> The Chargers may be starting to make things rough on opposing quarterbacks with their pass rush again, but there’s evidence that the Raiders may enjoy success with rookie Josh Jacobs running the ball behind their strong offensive line. L.A. is just 20th in the league against the run, allowing an average of 114.1 yards per game. In addition, despite holding the Packers to just 45 yards rushing, that number was skewed since Green Bay was trailing for much of the game. The Packers still averaged 4.1 yards per carry in the loss. CHARGERS SOMETIMES IN GIVING MOOD >> L.A. comes into Thursday night’s game ranked 24th in the league in turnover differential. The Chargers have turned over the ball 13 times, including five interceptions from Rivers, and have just 10 takeaways. Still fresh in the minds of Chargers followers is Melvin Gordon’s fumble at the goal line three weeks ago that cost L.A. a victory in Tennessee. He lost the ball with 15 seconds left in what should have been a Chargers victory. ISSUES ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE >> Despite a resurgent running attack against the Packers and getting tackle Russell Okung back, the Chargers still have one of the league’s poorest offensive lines. They came into the Packers game with the 29th-ranked offensive line, according to Pro Football Focus. Center Mike Pouncey and guards Trent Scott and Sam Tevi have had a number of issues in pass protection, which could be good news for the Raiders’ struggling pass rush.
Three reasons for Raiders’ pessimism
A NEW LOOK ON OFFENSE >> It’s no coincidence the Chargers played at a quicker pace on offense while also finally re-establishing a running attack in their 26-11 win over the Packers. That was by design, courtesy of Sacramento’s Shane Steichen, who took over at offensive coordinator when Ken Whisenhunt was fired last week. After failing to rush for more than 40 yards in four straight games, the Chargers ran for a season-high 159 yards, including a season-best 80 yards from Gordon and 70 from Austin Ekeler. Their efforts helped L.A. possess the ball for almost 36 minutes as the Chargers managed to avoid any threeand-out possessions as Rivers threw a season-low 28 passes, completing 21 for 294 yards in a more controlled aerial attack. BOSA’S BIG BROTHER BACK AND DOMINATING >> As a reminder that there’s another Bosa aside from the 49ers’ Nick who terrorizes NFL quarterbacks, Joey Bosa made his presence felt against the Packers. The 24-year-old Bosa had 1 ½ sacks against Aaron Rodgers, giving him 5 ½ sacks in his last three games. Bosa’s nine sacks are third in the league and his 33 solo tackles are the most of any defensive lineman. Perhaps more troubling for the Raiders is that the Chargers unleashed Bosa (and fellow edge rusher Melvin Ingram, who also had 1 ½ sacks Sunday) without blitzing much at all.
OLD MAN RIVERS >> While the Raiders may be equipped to deal with the Chargers’ running attack — they’re seventh in the league while permitting just 92.5 yards per game — but trying to figure out Rivers has been a mystery to them for years. The quarterback has led the Chargers to 18 wins over the Raiders in 26 career meetings. It was Rivers’ arm that led L.A. to its last win over Oakland as he went 18-of-26 passing for 223 yards and two scores in the Chargers’ 20-6 win last November at the Coliseum. Rivers is the league’s pace-setter in passing yards with 2,609 this season.
PROBABLE DIFFERENCEMAKER: MELVIN GORDON >> With the Chargers’ renewed emphasis on the run, Gordon’s role on Thursday night figures to be a large one. Playing in just his fifth game after a long holdout, the two-time Pro Bowler went into Sunday’s game averaging just 2.5 yards per carry. Then he went out and carried the ball a season-high 20 times while gaining a team-high 80 yards. He also ran for seven first downs while earning Pro Football Focus’ highest grade for any running back last week at 89.9. More concerning for the Raiders than the numbers, it appears as though Gordon is primed to do more damage. In fact, Rivers told Sports Illustrated that Gordon looks so strong that “it’s like he just finished training camp.”
UP NEXT
Chargers at Raiders, Thursday, 5:20 p.m., Fox, NFL Network