NFL Football: Los Angeles Chargers VS Las Vegas Raiders Prediction, Odds and Preview - 12/04/2022

 

Game Time: 4:25 PM ET,  Sunday, December 4th, 2022

Venue:  Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada

Where to Watch: CBS

FanDuel:  Chargers -1, O/U 50.5

BetMGM:  Raiders -1, O/U 50.5

PointsBet:  Raiders -0.5, O/U 50.5

Chargers: 6-5, 2nd place AFC West

Raiders: 4-7, 3rd place AFC West

An AFC matchup of division rivals.  This is supposed to be a big game… but both teams have underperformed on expectation.  The Raiders feel entirely irrelevant… Even if the math says that a 6 game win streak could make them winners?… the number of people who believe that a 6-game win streak is on the way with this roster are the same number of people looking for Bigfoot.  The Chargers on the other hand are in position to capitalize off a few wins and make a case for the postseason.  The Chargers have a strong young quarterback and have suffered the injury bug all season… a few good turns could make the Chargers contenders… remember this is the first season we have gone from 16 to 17 regular season games… There is time.  Vegas has set this game as a “pick’em”... You can find betting sites that favor the Chargers by 1 point and you can find sites that favor the Raiders by 1 point.  In this one the team you think will actually win the game is the Great Betting Opportunity.  Let’s check the numbers and predict the winner.

The Los Angeles Chargers eeked out a win in their last game over the Arizona Cardinals 25-24. Team leader and superstar in the making QB Justin Herbert has a strong arm and has passed for 3004 yards this season so far. He has weapons as well… WR Keenan Allen, RB Austin Ekeler have a lot of talent… while Herbert has most often been hooking up with WR Joshua Palmer (552 yards on the season).  The injury list is where you will find WR Mike Williams, LB Joey Bosa, and a small crew of important Chargers players.  Center Corey Lindley is concussed, Kicker Dustin Hopkins is the victim of a hamstring injury, it has been a mess.  Still the Chargers as a whole are still capable.  In their win over the Cardinals QB Justin Herbert had 274 passing yards with 3 TDs and 0 INT on 35 of 47.  They didn’t have any TDs in the rushing game but ultimately only even rushed 13 times total…. With Herbert himself getting more than half of the 65 rushing yards on scrambles.  The team prefers RB Austin Ekeler running routes where he is frequently targeted the most while Mike Williams is out.  On defense the Chargers need more out of what they do have DE Khalil Mack (7 sacks) would be more effective if Joey Bosa was on the field.

The Las Vegas Raiders have been a constant source of tragedy for several years now.  A First round pick getting cut for masking gun threats on social media… a first round pick headed for prison after a DUI crash… a big name coach losing his job for nasty emails and texts… An interim coach actually getting winning results out of the team, then getting passed over for the head job and the team immediately tanks.  It has been frustrating.  The losing Raiders however have won their last 2 games in a row!  They have doubled their win total on the season… and even though that total started as pathetic… any improvement is welcome.  In their last game, the Raiders beat the Seattle Seahawks 40-34 in overtime. QB Derek Carr landed 25 of 36 passes for 295 yards 3 TDs and 2 INTs… but the story of the win was told by the running game where RB Jash Jacobs had 229 yards on 33 carries with 2 TDs.  In true Raiders form Josh will be a free agent this offseason… making rebuilding choices tough on the Raiders… Pay him or lose him… Someone else will or they will.

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LAC: 6-5, 7-4 ATS, 6-5 O/U, 4-2 in road games.

LVR: 4-7, 5-6 ATS, 6-5 O/U, 2-2 in home games.

The Chargers are 13th in scoring with 22.9 points per game, 19th in total yards with 348 per game, 6th in passing yards with 262.2 per game, 30th in rushing yards with 85.8 per game.

The Raiders are 10th in scoring with 24.1 points per game, 10th in total yards with 363.5 per game, 8th in passing yards with 240.7 per game, 13th in rushing yards with 122.8 per game.

The Chargers defense is 26th in defense of total yards with 368.7 allowed per game, 18th in passing yards with 217.4 allowed per game, 28th in rushing yards with 151.4 allowed per game, and 29th in defense of points with 25.6 allowed per game.

The Raiders defense is 27th in total yards with 370.6 allowed per game, 26th in passing yards with 253 allowed per game, 16th in rushing yards with 117.6 per game, and 26th in points allowed with 25.1 per game.

Our prediction for Sunday, December 4th is…. Chargers 28 - Raiders 24

 

Bet on the Chargers.  The defensive numbers on these teams are so very close (especially in points allowed) that we should see a shootout between two quality quarterbacks (yes, Carr is quality)... In a shootout Herbert should be a clear winner.  Bigger arm, younger legs… more points this Sunday.

 

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The Chargers are 22-8 ATS in road games where the total is more or equal to 49.5 since 1992.

The Chargers are 5-1 ATS in road games this season.

The Raiders are 5-14 ATS as a favorite the last 3 seasons.  (Raiders are favored by 1 point on a few more sites than the Chargers)

Chargers: QB Justin Herbert, RB Austin Ekeler, WR DeAndre Carter, WR Joshua Palmer, WR Keenan Allen, TE Tre’ McKitty, LT Jamaree Salyer, LG Matt Feiler, C Corey Linsley, RG Zion Johnson, RT Trey Pipkins III

Raiders: QB Derek Carr, RB Josh Jacobs, WR Mack Hollins, WR Davante Adams, WR Keenan Cole, TE Foster Moreau, LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham, C Andre James, RG Alex Bars, RT Jermaine Eluemunor

Partly Cloudy, Humidity 46%, Wind 10 mph, 67*