NFL Week 17 and we will see the Oakland Raiders travel to San Diego to take on the San Diego Chargers. The game is scheduled for a 4:25 PM (Eastern) start time and it will be televised live on CBS. Currently the odds for the game have San Diego favored by 10 points, while the total sits at 39. Check out Sportsbook Spy to find out what side the Public is taking on all today's games.
Free Analysis: The Raiders began their rebuilding process last offseason with a new coach and a new general manager, though they cannot be too happy about the results of Year 1. The power running game never materialized as Darren McFadden once again dealt with injuries, and Carson Palmer has failed to make up for a defense that has allowed 30 points or more six times. With Palmer ruled out after suffering cracked ribs and a bruised lung during last Sunday's 17-6 loss at Carolina, the Raiders will give Pryor his first career start in this game, choosing him over Matt Leinart. Leinart saw nearly all of the snaps after Palmer was knocked out last weekend, completing 16 of 32 passes with an interception. Pryor, though, beat out Leinart during practice this week and will try to jump-start a struggling Raiders offense that has failed to score a touchdown the last two games. The Raiders still have to worry about their No. 29 rush offense going up against the Chargers’ No. 4 rush defense. While the Raiders figure to lean on Darren McFadden given their shaky QB situation, the fifth-year back has generally struggled to find holes. He ran the ball 17 times for 33 yards against the Panthers and is averaging 3.3 yards per carry - the NFL's third-lowest mark among qualified players. McFadden was limited to 32 yards on 15 attempts against the Chargers earlier this year but hauled in a career-high 13 receptions for 86 yards.
While the San Diego Chargers kicked off their season with a win over the AFC West rival Oakland Raiders, it's been a turbulent ride since. The Norv Turner era could be coming to an end as a result. Turner - possibly along with general manager A.J. Smith - is expected to be fired at seasons end. The Chargers (6-9) haven't made the playoffs since 2009 and are set to finish with their worst record since going 4-12 in 2003. San Diego is seeking its third straight victory in this series after a 22-14 win at Oakland in Week 1. Rivers, who with 3,455 passing yards is all but certain to come up short of 4,000 for the first time since 2007, threw for 165 and two touchdowns last Sunday in a 27-17 road win over the New York Jets. The Chargers sacked the inexperienced Greg McElroy a franchise record-tying 11 times in that game, and would appear to have another favorable matchup in store.
Free Pick: I like the Under in this one. The Raiders offense has been non-existent as they haven’t scored a TD since week 14 and have put up just 7 FG’s in their last 2 games. It doesn’t figure to get much better for them this week with Terrell Pryor, who is making his first career start, going up against a tough Chargers defense that is 11th overall and just sacked an inexperienced McElroy last week 11 times. This Raiders OL is pretty week and will have a tough time winning battles along the line vs the Chargers. Also the Raiders don’t have a running game to take the pressure off of Pryor, so I really look for the Raiders to struggle to score again. The Chargers offense has not been that good this year and with all the changes expected to come will probably be disinterested on that side of the ball. The Raiders defense has also played well of late, allowing just 16 points in their last 2 games. This game wll be played in the low 30’s at best.
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