NFL Free Pick – Sunday, December 5, 2010
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Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
Sunday, December 5, 2010 at 4:05 PM EST on CBS
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San Diego has won four straight games and has suddenly found itself in second place in the AFC West after a 36-14 win at Indianapolis last Sunday. But they are not out of the woods yet, as Oakland is trailing by just one game.
The Chargers’ defense scored more than their offense did on Sunday, retuning two interceptions for touchdowns while the offense scored one touchdown and settled for five field goals.
As for the Raiders, their running machine has run out of gas during its two-game losing skid. Oakland had 16 yards on 12 carries in a loss to Miami on Sunday and it has 77 yards total in the past two games.
The quarterback situation in Oakland hasn’t helped matters either and it just got worse as Bruce Gradkowski has re-injured a shoulder that kept him out five games. That means Jason Campbell may be the starter for maybe the rest of the season. Oh the horrors, we all remember when Cable benched Campbell twice this season, and if that happens it means the Raiders will have to go to No. 3 quarterback Kyle Boller.
Defensively Oakland is still a work in progress, and ranks 5th against the pass while allowing 23.3 points and 335.4 yards per game.
San Diego’s Phillip Rivers will need to pay special attention in keeping the ball away from Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha. Rivers is having a huge year completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 3,362 yards for 23 touchdowns and just nine interceptions.
The ground game is improving in San Diego and despite a rash of injuries, and the defense has been fierce allowing just 20.5 points and 273.5 yards per game.
Two weeks ago, I would have liked the Raiders chances of pulling off the upset, but with the unknown at quarterback and the running game sputtering and misfiring, I have to go with a resurrected Chargers in this one.
PREDICTION- San Diego
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Oakland Raiders Betting Trends:
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of Oakland’s last 9 games
- Oakland is 1-5-1 SU in its last 7 games ,on the road
- Oakland is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
- Oakland is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
San Diego Chargers Betting Trends:
- San Diego is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 7 of San Diego’s last 10 games at home
- San Diego is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home
- San Diego is 13-1 SU in its last 14 games when playing Oakland
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