Chargers vs. Raiders: Silver and Black's Fate Will Be Up to Carson Palmer

Whatever you do, don't tune in to tonight's contest between the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers expecting to see a low-scoring game. Points are going to be put on the board early and often, and the last team standing will win.

Before we go any further, I'll point out that I've already picked the Chargers to win and cover the spread in this game. The Raiders defense is an injured wreck, and I expect Philip Rivers to dominate a Silver and Black secondary that is basically comprised of spare parts.

That's half the reason I think this is going to be a high-scoring game. The other half is that the Chargers defense is nothing special, and Darren McFadden's absence won't stop the Raiders from moving the ball.

If, and I stress if, the Raiders are to win this game, it will be because of Carson Palmer. The Raiders went out and got him because they figured they could win with him, and he's going to have to repay that faith tonight in San Diego.

Put simply, the Raiders need Palmer to out-duel Rivers. He's going to rack up yards and points for the Chargers, and Palmer needs to follow suit and then some.

This will start by not turning the football over, which is an iffy proposition. In six quarters of action in a Raiders uniform, Palmer has thrown six interceptions. Understandably, he's rusty and not up to speed quite yet, and I'm honestly not sure much is going to change in the near future.

If Palmer does do well in tonight's game, it will therefore qualify as a surprise. For all his accomplishments and experience in the National Football League, it's virtually impossible for Raiders fans to watch him play without crossing their fingers. He is the wild card of wild cards.

The bright side for the Raiders—and Raider Nation—is that Palmer did show flashes of his old self in his first start. He threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns and made several throws that few other quarterbacks could make or even think to make. Had he not thrown the three picks, it would have been a brilliant first start and a win for the Silver and Black.

The Raiders are going to need a repeat performance, sans the turnovers, in order to beat the Chargers. Palmer must be the better quarterback, otherwise the Raiders have no shot at actually winning this game.

If they do, they're in first place in the AFC West.

If they don't, they could be tied with the Denver Broncos by the time Week 10 comes to a close.

Imagine that.