The winner takes it all!
Welcome to the season final! A real final awaits the two protagonists in the city of sin. Only the winner of the duel between the Las Vegas Raiders vs. the Los Angeles Chargers will reach the playoffs. The two teams have the same record of 9-7. It is a direct duel for seventh place in the AFC Conference, which entitles the team to participate in the postseason.
The NFL has scheduled the game as “Sunday Night Football.” This is, without question, due to the expected drama described at the outset. According to the odds, the bookmakers see the team from L.A. as the favourite in the Raiders vs. Chargers game.
Since this is a divisional duel in the AFC West, the game has already taken place this season. In week four, the Chargers handed the Raiders, 28-14, their first loss of the season.
Kickoff is at 2:20 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The decisive duel for the play-off spot can be seen live on DAZN.
Las Vegas Raiders – Statistics & current form
Whether this season is over after the game against the Chargers or they get to play in the Wildcard Round next week, one thing is certain: the Raiders are looking back on a turbulent season. The resignation of head coach Jon Gruden and the arrest of Henry Ruggs III naturally brought extreme turmoil to the franchise. The fact that they are still in the play-off race before week 18 is also thanks to a great final spurt.
After the crushing loss in Week 14 against the Chiefs, the Nevada franchise had a negative win-loss record for the first time this season at 6-7. However, good performances and important wins against the Browns, Broncos and Colts followed. These teams were all direct opponents for one of the final spots.
Where can the Raiders offense attack?
The Raiders’ offense is appearing changed in recent weeks. They have used the run more often over the last few games to move the ball. Over the last few weeks, they ran the ball on almost 50% of their snaps. That should play into their hands, as the Chargers’ run defence is the third-worst in the league. But if the Chargers pick up right where they left off last time, they seem to be stabilising a bit in run defence. Lately, L.A. has been much more aggressive against the run.
That aggressiveness, in turn, will then open up spaces in the passing game. Raiders’ wide receiver H. Renfrow is currently playing the first 1,000-yard season of his NFL career. He will once again be one of Carr’s main playmaking targets. That’s because the wide receiver corps isn’t scary. In the Week Four duel between the two teams, Renfrow had six catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. In the Raiders vs. Chargers duel, the odds on him scoring his eighth total touchdown of the season are an attractive 2.60.
There is a realistic chance that tight end D. Waller returns from injury. He would be a very important option for quarterback D. Carr in the passing game. He always has the potential to make a big play. However, he must expect a lot of pressure from the opposing defence around superstar Joey Bosa in the duel against the Chargers.
Los Angeles Chargers – Statistics & current form
Against the Texans in Week 16, the Chargers, against one of the worst teams in the NFL, wanted to take a big step towards the postseason. However, that’s all they wanted. They conceded an unbelievable 41 points because Houston literally ran over them. In the end, 189 rushing yards were recorded for the Texans. However, the Chargers recovered from this defeat very quickly. Last week they had a bounce-back game against the Broncos, who they were able to beat by a wide margin.
The offense is working
What you notice when you look at the last few Chargers games is that the offense is operating and functioning at a very high level. The losses against the Chiefs and the Texans were more the fault of the defence, but fitted into the generally rather changeable season. In the past five games, quarterback J. Herbert’s offense has scored at least 28 points and 19 touchdowns in each game. Herbert now stands at 35 passing touchdowns this season, putting him in the franchise history books.
The quarterback has improved even more from his rookie season. L.A. can now win games “unspectacularly”. J. Herbert has become good at managing games and playing patiently. While there is a possibility that the Chargers will struggle a bit with the running game in the matchup against the Raiders. But with the plethora of receivers, they have enough kick-off stations to attack the susceptible secondary of the opposing defense.
The Chargers have the worst 3rd down defence in the league. This broke their neck, figuratively speaking, especially in the game against the Texans. Houston was able to convert 60% of their 3rd downs into new 1st downs. Overall, however, they showed improvement in these game situations against the Broncos. They should be able to limit both the running and passing game of the Raiders.
Las Vegas Raiders – Los Angeles Chargers Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
In a direct comparison, it is a good idea to look at the Raiders vs. Chargers clash and the odds in week four and derive a prediction from that. The team from California won the home game with a difference of 14 points and held the Raiders offence to 14 points, two touchdowns and 213 yards of space gain. We expect a similar gameplay in the decisive clash in Week 18.
Due to the same division, this duel regularly takes place twice a year. The most recent duel was highlighted in detail. Last season, the Chargers won game two in OT, while the Raiders won the first leg. In the last ten games, less than 50 points were scored in seven games.
Las Vegas averages 21.2 points and 2.1 touchdowns per game. Los Angeles’ high-scoring offence, on the other hand, averages 27.6 points and 3.3 touchdowns per game.
Las Vegas Raiders – Los Angeles Chargers Tip
The Raiders’ three wins of late, which have kept them in the playoff race, can definitely be considered an overperformance. The Chargers are the better team in this duel. It can be assumed that this will also be reflected in the final result. In the clash between Raiders vs. Chargers, we therefore recommend betting on a handicap victory for the Californians.
The Chargers’ offensive power will ensure that they can score at least three touchdowns in the game. The home team will not be able to keep up with that.
But all in all, the bookmakers’ over/under of 50 points is considered too high. L.A. reaches this point limit in nine games this season, the Raiders only in seven.
