Chargers Hope Dislike For Raiders Propels Them To Victory
By Dave Thomas
So close and yet so far. That may very well best describe the season to date for the San Diego Chargers.
Following a hard-fought season-opening win over Detroit, the Chargers would drop their next two games, beat Cleveland, then find themselves in another two-game losing skid, the most recent of which was a disappointing 27-20 loss at unbeaten Green Bay this past weekend.
As has been the case in the majority of their games this season, the Chargers were in it right down to the end at Lambeau Field, only to see Aaron Rodgers and the Pack escape with the victory. In the NFL and all professional sports for that matter, moral victories are nothing to brag about.
Here Come The Raiders
With the 2015 season slowly appearing to be in jeopardy for a San Diego (2-4) team that came in with as much off the field attention (possible move to Los Angeles after this season) as it did on the field, the Chargers know that turning things around starts Sunday when the hated Oakland Raiders come to town.
San Diego, which has had the better of it against their hated rivals from the north over the last decade, looks like it could easily compete for second place in the AFC West from now to the end of the season. While no one is giving Denver (6-0) the division crown quite yet, the Broncos will be hard to unseat as the prohibitive favorite to win the division, especially given the inconsistent play of San Diego, Oakland (2-3) and Kansas City (1-5) to date.
So, what will increase San Diego's chances of getting out of this Sunday's game with a victory?
For starters, winning the fourth quarter will be key.
In three of its four losses (lost to Minnesota 31-14), the Chargers had ample opportunities to win the game in the final 15 minutes, only to see the opposition come away with the triumph. If the Chargers want to prove that they are not done in the AFC West or AFC race for that matter, they need to close out opponents heading into and midway through the final stanza, not have the game on the line in the final minutes.
Can Offensive Line Protect Rivers?
Secondly, while quarterback Philip Rivers is putting up some off-the-charts numbers through six games (2,116 yards passing, 12 TD's) to give him a QB rating of 102.8. his protection up front is still a serious question mark.
San Diego's offensive line through six games has looked more like an episode of General Hospital than a well-oiled and healthy machine. If Rivers is given ample time to disperse the ball come Sunday, Oakland's secondary could very well be toast when all is said and done.
Lastly, there is little doubt that these two teams downright dislike each other, so expect a bunch of intensity, especially at the start of the game.
For anyone who has ever attended a Chargers home game over the years, they know that San Diego does not enjoy a "true" homefield advantage that the likes of Pittsburgh, Seattle, Green Bay etc. do. One can expect plenty of Oakland fans in the crowd, so San Diego will need to give the Raiders and their fans little hope of winning early on.
With a rivalry that dates back to the old AFL days (Oakland leads the all-time series 59-50-2, though San Diego has won 19 of the last 23 meetings), the Chargers and Raiders will renew hostilities in a game that both teams need to remain semi-relevant in the AFC West race.
The question is, will San Diego be able to close this game out sooner rather than later and avoid another fourth quarter disappointment?
Dave Thomas has been covering the sports world since his first job as a sports editor for a weekly newspaper in Pennsylvania back in 1989. He has covered a Super Bowl, college bowl games, MLB, NBA and more. His work can be found on Examiner.com.