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Week 15’s Thursday Night Football will pit a tale of two teams. The Las Vegas Raiders are currently coming off a lopsided 44-27 loss against another playoff contender in the Indianapolis Colts in Week 14. Despite the loss, the Raiders still find themselves with a 7-6 record and second in the AFC West to remain in the hunt for a playoff spot.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Chargers are coming off a tight 20-17 victory against the struggling Atlanta Falcons to arrest their previous two-game losing skid. The Bolts have now improved to a 4-9 win-loss tally but remain out of contention for a playoff seat as they settle in the fourth place of the AFC West.
These two unpredictable teams should make up for an exciting matchup heading to the latter stages of the season. Here are four bold predictions for the upcoming tilt between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Chargers from the Men in Black’s standpoint.
1. Derek Carr will exceed 300 passing yards in the game
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has been on a tear under center in their last two games. In Week 13 against the New York Jets, the Fresno State product chalked up 381 passing yards on 28-of-47 passes completed and accounted for three passing touchdowns.
In Week 14, Carr followed it up with another huge outing with tallies of 316 passing yards on a 31/45 clip and two touchdowns scored against the Indianapolis Colts. He will have to find his rhythm and get going early on in the game to avoid another slow start similar to how the Raiders came out in their most recent encounter against the Colts.
2. Darren Waller will score a touchdown and lead receiving corps
Tight end Darren Waller was able to come back to life after a string of subpar outings due to Carr’s sudden burst in passing the rock. The former Georgia Tech standout previously exploded for 200 receiving yards on 13 catches and scored two touchdowns in Week 13 against the Jets.
His numbers eventually dipped when they faced a much better Colts defense in the following week where he was only limited to 75 yards on seven receptions without a touchdown scored in the blowout defeat. Waller will have to be step up especially on the offense’s aerial attack in order to fill in for the team’s other weapons in the receiving duo of Nelson Agholor and Hunter Renfrow which failed to be consistent in their point production this season.
3. Raiders’ defensive rotation will finally tighten up
The Las Vegas Raiders defense has been dismal in their past few games dating back to their Week 12 slate against the Atlanta Falcons where they allowed 46 points from their opponents with the Raiders offense managing to put up only six markers across the board for the lopsided loss.
In the following week, the defense also allowed a struggling Jets offense to come close and figure the Raiders in a tightly-contested game. Carr’s last-gasp long bomb ultimately lifted the team but the outcome of the match could’ve gone either way especially with the way the team’s defense played.
The Raiders’ defense was slow to regain their momentum as they failed to limit the Colts offense which came out firing from both their passing and rushing attack en route to a 44-27 victory. The defense will need to get back on the right track if they want to gain the upper hand against a subpar Chargers offense.
4. Las Vegas Raiders win tight contest
Las Vegas’ struggling defense lined up against the Chargers’ unreliable offense are two components for a neck and neck battle that is expected to transpire between the two teams. However, I would still put my bet on the Raiders who have shown flashes of their potential in the early stages of the season but has yet to find the right consistency to sustain their rhythm for multiple weeks.
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and his men know in themselves that their backs are already against the wall with a 7-6 record. Despite their position, they are partly in luck as two of their division rivals in the Denver Broncos and the Chargers have been struggling all season long. However, they would still need to put up strong performances for the remainder of their games if they want to put themselves in a good position to barge into the postseason picture.
A win against the Chargers in Week 15 will lift them to an 8-6 record and will serve as a safety net in case they flop against the surging Miami Dolphins in Week 16 and the depleted Broncos in Week 17.