Raiders vs. Chargers: 7 Ways Oakland Can Upset San Diego on Thursday Night

The Raiders and Chargers are heading into their Thursday night prime-time showdown under similar circumstances: Both teams are 4-4, mired in losing streaks and are tied for the division lead with Kansas City.

The big difference between these two squads is how they’ve lost recently. While the Chargers came up just short against the Chiefs and Packers, the Raiders have been very unimpressive lately, following a blowout loss to Kansas City with a trampling by the Broncos.

But fear not, Raider Nation, there’s still a chance for the Silver and Black to get back on track. Las Vegas may not believe in Oakland (the Raiders are seven-point underdogs), but I do. Here are seven steps the Raiders can take to “stay classy” in San Diego and escape with a victory.

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Minimize the Penalties

Will this ever stop being an issue? The Raiders’ penalty problems are nearly as old as the NFL. They were flagged 15 times on Sunday and had more penalty yards (130) than rushing yards (100). Most of the penalties were deserved—most, not all. I don’t want to be a Raider apologist or conspiracy theorist, but it sure seemed like Oakland was getting flagged for things the Broncos were getting away with.

However, in the end, it doesn’t matter because regardless of who the coach is or what team the Raiders are playing, they’re simply going to get flagged a lot. It’s a fact of life. What the Raiders can do is limit the dumb plays that result in big penalties, such as Aaron Curry’s hit on Tim Tebow out of bounds on Sunday. That unnecessary roughness call in the fourth quarter was huge, and was a definite turning point for the Broncos.

The Raiders have to be as disciplined as possible. An occasional false start is frustrating, but can be overcome, whereas 15-yard penalties will kill you.

Devise a Good Defensive Game Plan—And Stick to It!

The Raiders’ first half against the Broncos was a prime example of how every defense should play Tim Tebow: Blitz mercilessly and dare him to beat you with his arm.

This strategy worked out perfectly for two quarters, as the Raiders built a 10-point lead. Then for some unknown reason, defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan decided to abandon this philosophy and start dropping more guys into coverage. The result? Willis McGahee looked like Terrell Davis (complete with obnoxious Mile High Salute) and the Broncos ran wild.

As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Don’t try to be fancy, just stick with what works.

Pressure, Pressure and More Pressure

Pressuring the quarterback is extremely important for every football team, but it is critical for the Raiders if they want to win. Aside from Stanford Routt, who is a solid (if unspectacular) cornerback, the Raiders secondary is pretty thin. Matt Giordano is a nice effort guy, but he can’t cover worth a lick. Michael Huff is very streaky and the other cornerbacks are nothing special. The best way to cover up a leaky secondary is to have an effective pass rush, which the Raiders are more than capable of.

Their defensive front four is as good as you’ll find in the AFC, and if Bresnahan mixes in some blitzes, Philip Rivers should be on the run all night. Given his struggles this season (he leads the NFL in interceptions with a whopping 14), pressuring Rivers should also lead to some turnovers for the Silver and Black.

Protect the Football

Speaking of turnovers, the Raiders must control their giveaways. Good teams don’t turn the ball over, and Carson Palmer especially needs to be more careful. Six picks in six quarters of football is not a good way to endear yourself to your new fans, and the Raider defense isn’t playing well enough right now to overcome so many mistakes.

Although Jason Campbell was a very vanilla passer this year, at least he understood the importance of protecting the football and threw the ball away if the play wasn’t there. Palmer made some fantastic passes on Sunday, but he can’t try to be Brett Favre and constantly throw into tight windows.

Sorry to break it to you, Carson, but if you were as good as vintage Favre, you’d still be a Bengal.

Stop Being so Predictable

I couldn’t believe my eyes Sunday when I saw Hue Jackson’s play calling; what had once been an extremely creative offense became as predictable as a Matthew McConaughey romantic comedy.

The Raiders consistently passed on first down (often resulting in an incompletion), then followed it up with a run on second down almost every time. There were no well-timed reverses, flea-flickers or anything creative.

Is it any wonder the Raiders were 4-of-12 on third down? You’re not going to win a lot of football games if you fail on two-thirds of your third-down attempts.

Remember What Got You Here

Another problem Jackson seems to have is he’s a little too in love with his new toy: Palmer.

Palmer used to be an elite quarterback, sure, but that was a few years ago. The Palmer of recent years has been rather mediocre, and let’s not forget the guy wasn’t even wearing a uniform until a few weeks ago. I believe Palmer can become a top-10 NFL quarterback again, but not anytime soon. He’s still getting used to his receivers and the playbook.

All season, the Raiders have been a running team. As I detailed in a previous post, when Darren McFadden runs the ball well, the Raiders win. Granted, he was out Sunday, but Michael Bush is a perfectly capable replacement. And yet, Bush only got 19 carries, including just nine in the second half. Bush is not the explosive weapon McFadden is; he’s a 245-pound bruiser—the kind of guy who gets you tough yards and starts to wear down the defense as the game goes on. The fact Bush got so few carries when the Raiders had the lead in the second half is inexcusable.

With McFadden likely to miss Thursday's game, the Raiders need to pound the rock with Bush early and often, with a little Taiwan Jones thrown in.

Control the Clock

The Chargers just put up 38 points on the defending Super Bowl champions; do you think the Raiders are any better than the 8-0 Packers? I didn’t think so. The only way to keep the Charger offense contained is to keep the Bolts off the field.

As great as Aaron Rodgers and his receiving corps are, the Packers have one offensive problem: They hate to run the ball. If I had Rodgers, I’d probably want to throw it every down, too, but passing leads to quick scores and causes your defense to be on the field forever.

If the Raiders don’t control the clock, Rivers will light them up. As bad as his season has been, he’s still the kind of guy who will make you pay if you keep giving him chances. The last time the Raiders beat the Chargers (December 2010), they absolutely dominated time of possession, limiting the Chargers to just 21 minutes with the ball. The Silver and Black accomplished that by running for 251 yards.

If Hue Jackson is smart, he’ll try to duplicate that effort on Thursday.

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