CHARGERS (7-4) vs. RAIDERS (2-9)
When: 1:25 p.m. Sunday
Where: SoFi Stadium
TV/Radio: Ch. 2; 640 AM/94.3 FM (Spanish)
Line: Chargers by 9.5
Notable injury designations
Chargers: OUT: RB Omarion Hampton (ankle); QUESTIONABLE: DL Otito Ogbonnia (elbow).
Raiders: OUT: TE Michael Mayer (ankle); QUESTIONABLE: DT Adam Butler (illness), CB Darnay Holmes (illness), OL Jordan Meredith (ankle), RB Zamir White (illness).
What’s at stake: The Chargers should be rested after their bye in Week 12. They certainly can’t afford another meltdown like they suffered during their 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 11, when they did almost nothing right and looked nothing like a playoff contender. The Chargers picked apart the mistake-prone Raiders with ease in a 20-9 victory in Week 2, and they need something similar as they begin a six-game sprint to the regular season’s finish line.
Who’s better: On paper, the Chargers are the better team, but they must prove it on the field. To say the Raiders have struggled in Pete Carroll’s return to the NFL would be putting it mildly. They have lost five consecutive games and fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly after a loss Sunday to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders’ offense averaged 15 points per game, tied for 31st in the 32-team NFL.
Matchup to watch: The big question facing the Chargers is whether they can protect quarterback Justin Herbert, who has been playing behind a makeshift offensive line since left tackle Rashawn Slater suffered a season-ending knee injury during training camp. Herbert had a career-low 81 yards passing during the Chargers’ loss to the Jaguars and was checked for a concussion after an illegal hit in the closing moments of the first half. Las Vegas defensive end Maxx Crosby has six sacks.
Chargers win if: The Chargers must protect Herbert while also making life difficult for Raiders quarterback Geno Smith, something they did well in their first game in Las Vegas. The Chargers intercepted Smith three times, including on the game’s first play, in their Sept. 15 victory. Pressuring him and the Raiders into mistakes could be a key to victory.
Fantasy sleeper: Herbert would seem primed for a bounce-back game after a clunker against the Jaguars. He has had a week to rest and regroup after the worst game of his career and it would be wise to expect him to come back firing on all cylinders. The Raiders’ defense isn’t as poor as their offense, but it’s not highly ranked. In fact, Las Vegas is 23rd in average points allowed per game (25.2), tied for 14th in net yards allowed per game (321.6) and 18th in net passing yards allowed per game (218.3). It all adds up to a big game for Herbert, who dropped from second to ninth in the NFL in the wake of the Jacksonville game and the bye week with 2,691 yards.
Prediction: The Raiders want to win, but the Chargers need to win. It’s really that simple. If the Chargers have any hopes of reaching the playoffs for the second season in a row in Jim Harbaugh’s tenure as coach, they must defeat the Raiders. A loss wouldn’t ruin their chances, but it would be a bad start to their stretch run. Chargers 24, Raiders 13.