The Oakland Raiders will welcome the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football in Week 10. The Raiders are coming off an impressive win on Sunday where they were able to defeat the Detroit Lions 31-24.
With the win in Week 9, the Raiders are now 4-4 and sit at second place in the AFC West. So far this season, Oakland has been one of the most inconsistent teams in the NFL.
Some weeks, the Raiders are capable of defeating the Lions or Indianapolis Colts and others they are losing by double-digits to the Green Bay Packers or Kansas City Chiefs. As a matter of fact, three of Oakland's losses in 2019 have been decided by 10 or more points.
Nevertheless, the Raiders are attempting to crawl back into the playoff race. The first task will be beating the Chargers at home on Thursday night.
The Chargers had an impressive win of their own in Week 9. After squeaking out a victory over the Tennesee Titans in Week 8, Los Angeles was able to take down the Packers 26-11 on Sunday.
Coming into this game, the Chargers are 4-5 and have the talent to string off some wins.
With that being said, here are four reasons why the Raiders will defeat the Chargers in Week 10.
4. The Raiders' run defense will slow down Chargers' rushing attack
There's no doubt that the Chargers made a concerted effort to run the ball in their win over the Packers in Week 9. Ever since Melvin Gordon returned from his holdout in Week 4, the Chargers have been incapable of being effective on the ground.
However, on Sunday, Gordon rushed for a season-high 80 yards on 20 attempts and two touchdowns. Altogether, the Chargers gashed Green Bay for 159 yards en route to a double-digit victory over the leaders in the NFC North.
While Los Angeles was impressive running the ball, they won't be able to have the same success against the Raiders. Currently, Oakland owns the seventh-best run defense in the NFL that gives up just 92.5 yards per game.
Above all, the Raiders' defense has only allowed two teams to rush for over 100 yards on them.
3. Derek Carr has been extremely efficient
To begin the season, Derek Carr had 699 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions in the first three weeks. Over the past five weeks, the Raiders' franchise quarterback has been extremely efficient in the offense.
Carr has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 1,285 yards, nine touchdowns, and just one interception in Oakland's last five games. There's no reason to believe that sixth-year quarterback will be slowed down by the Chargers' defense.
Los Angeles boasts the fifth-best pass defense in the NFL but that won't be enough to prevent Carr from lighting it up on the field.
2. Josh Jacobs is turning into a star
When the Raiders selected Josh Jacobs with the 24th overall pick in this year's draft, they were hoping to get a running back who could provide a spark in the offense. It's safe to say that Jacobs has done more than just that.
Through the team's first eight games, the rookie rusher has rushed for 740 yards and six touchdowns. Additionally, Jacobs is amid an impressive stretch of performances in the past month. In the past four weeks, Jacobs has totaled 433 yards and four touchdowns—including three 100-yard games.
This year, Los Angeles has surrendered 114.1 rushing yards per game (20th in the NFL). The rookie out of Alabama should have no trouble continuing his dominance in the backfield in Week 10.
1. Oakland's offensive line will negate Chargers' pass rush
In the first four weeks of the season, the Raiders' new-look offensive line had given up eight sacks. Since then, the offensive line has been arguably the best group in the NFL.
On Sunday, Oakland allowed their first sack in their past four games. The addition of Trent Brown has been remarkable, but there's a chance that he is unable to suit up on Thursday due to a knee injury.
Nevertheless, the Raiders' will negate the pass-rushing duo of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram on Thursday. Bosa and Ingram were able to wreck Green Bay's offensive gameplan in Week 9 by getting after Aaron Rodgers.
The only thing is, they won't be able to have the same success against the Raiders.
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