Raiders vs. Chargers: Breaking Down Oakland's Game Plan
As the Oakland Raiders inch closer to a winless season, the competition doesn’t ease up with consecutive division opponents coming up.
Division games are usually more competitive, which bodes well for Oakland if the players execute on their assignments. The San Diego Chargers narrowly escaped with a win on the road back in Week 6, now the action shifts to Qualcomm Stadium where the Raiders haven’t won since the 2011 season.
The Chargers enter this week’s matchup on a three-game losing streak. After being shut out in their last contest and a bye week to recuperate, San Diego is just as eager to win as their winless opponents to keep pace in a competitive AFC West division.
TOP NEWS
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Colts Release Kenny Moore
Projecting Every NFL Team's Starting Lineup 🔮
Rookie WRs Who Will Outplay Their Draft Value 📈
If the Raiders plan on thwarting the Chargers' playoff aspirations, a lot of focus should be allotted to Antonio Gates. The 12-year veteran tight end is healthy and has nine touchdowns in nine games this season.
The Raiders have weapons on offense, but they have to find clever ways of delivering the ball to their talented skill players, Maurice Jones-Drew, Darren McFadden and Andre Holmes.
Get Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden Involved
The Raiders' rushing attack has been underutilized in offensive coordinator Greg Olson's play-calling. This would be the perfect time to re-introduce Jones-Drew and McFadden. The Chargers are allowing 113.2 rushing yards per game, but Oakland is dead last in the league running the ball at a paltry 62.1 yards per game.
Both running backs are capable of producing, but they need more opportunities. Last week, the Raiders only ran the ball seven times in the first half against the Denver Broncos before the game spiraled out of control. The lack of commitment to the run gave Peyton Manning more opportunities to score than the Raiders should have allowed.
Just like Manning, Rivers can be cerebral in his passing attack—he's completing 67 percent of his passes. Oakland can help its defense tremendously by extending drives with more run plays on earlier downs.
Furthermore, the rushing attack could be effective against San Diego. In Week 6, against the Chargers, the two running backs combined for 110 rushing yards in 18 rushing attempts, per Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Play-Action Passing
Olson can build on an active rushing attacking by using play action to get safeties Marcus Gilchrist and Eric Weddle to play closer to the line of scrimmage. If the safeties hesitate for a split second, the Raiders' speedy receiver, Holmes, can win one-on-one matchups down the field. Thus far, Holmes has been a viable deep threat.
| Catchable Passes | Receptions | Yards | Touchdowns |
| 5 | 4 | 158 | 2 |
Quarterback Derek Carr has been very effective throwing the play-action pass.
| Attempts | Completions | Yards | Touchdowns | Completion Percentage | QB Rating |
| 70 | 45 | 367 | 4 | 64.3 | 96.5 |
Holmes is catching the ball and accumulating yards in large chunks. He leads the team in yards per catch (16 yards) and has the longest reception among Raiders receivers (77 yards). Carr can stretch the field and keep the Chargers defense guessing between an efficient rushing attack and a receiver capable of going deep for a score.
Containing Antonio Gates
The Raiders have the athleticism and the physicality on defense to limit Gates productivity and keep him out of the end zone.
The Chargers’ rushing attack accumulates 81.8 yards per game, not much better than the Raiders. Running back Ryan Mathews is expected to play, per Michael Gehlken of the Union-Tribune San Diego, via Rotoworld, adding a boost to the backfield. Nonetheless, until he proves to be effective after missing seven games, Oakland can assign Khalil Mack some coverage responsibilities closer to the line of scrimmage.
Mack has the athleticism and the tackling efficiency to prevent Gates from moving the chains on Sunday. The rookie linebacker has a 9.2 tackling efficiency average, he makes about nine tackles for every missed tackle per Pro Football Focus. If Mathews is somewhat effective, Mack will have to provide run-stopping support.
Charles Woodson covered Julius Thomas early in last week's game before the tight end scored two touchdowns in the second half. Woodson was able to limit Thomas’ yards after the catch with solid tackling.
Woodson locates the ball and converges on the receiver to make a play in coverage.
Woodson quickly closes the gap to limit Thomas’ space in the open field.
Contact is made immediately. Thomas is driven out of bounds after five yards.
Thomas catches a pass in the flat, and Woodson squares his feet to execute a solid one-on-one tackle.
Woodson strategically goes low, taking down the bigger, more athletic tight end—limiting the catch to six yards.
Gates is less agile than Thomas at this stage in his career. Rivers often looks to his tight end to move the chains and in the red zone. Woodson could blanket Gates with his tackling efficiency and coverage skills, forcing Rivers to throw elsewhere.
Unless otherwise noted, all advanced statistics are provided by Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
