The Oakland Raiders game against the Los Angeles Chargers scheduled for this Sunday could be affected by the Northern California wildfires that erupted last weekend. So far, the game is to be played at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum as originally planned.
The NFL’s vice president of communications Michael Signora has been in touch with both teams and the County of Alameda in regards to air quality. The fire that erupted up north in wine country has affected large areas with smoke, making the air quality around Oakland worse by the day.
The Damage from the Fire
Since last Sunday, the fire has caused a lot of damage to northern california. The blazes from this wildfire have killed 26 people and have burned down 3,500 homes and businesses. Additionally, an estimated 25,000 people have been driven from their homes due to this natural disaster.
Oakland sits 45 miles away from the wild blazes in wine country, and it has been covered by smoke the last few days. The NFL has been concerned about the air quality in that area and is contemplating if the game should still be played on Sunday.
Signora has stated that the NFL has been monitoring the air quality and are staying in touch with all parties involved, meaning both teams and the city of Oakland.
So far, Signora has confirmed that the game will remain in Oakland.
Other Options
College football is also scheduled for this weekend up in Northern California at Berkeley and Stanford. However, they do not have a solution yet like the NFL. If things were to go south with air quality in Oakland, the NFL has proposed for the Raiders and Chargers to play at the San Francisco 49ers’ field, the Levi Stadium.
Another option for the Raiders and Chargers is to play in San Diego. The Mayor of San Diego, Kevin Faulconer, has offered Qualcomm Stadium as a backup plan. If this happens, the Chargers would be coming to a home they left behind for Los Angeles.
The Game for Sunday
The game for Sunday between the Oakland Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers is a divisional rivalry that could be costly for either team.
Both teams will be playing to stay away from the bottom of the AFC West. Whoever loses, gets the last place and could possibly say goodbye to playoff hopes.
The match should be something to watch since the matchup is quite interesting. The Raiders will get their starting quarterback Derek Carr back, and they will most likely have a shootout against a Chargers team that is trigger happy with Philip Rivers at the helm.
Another note, the Chargers defense has not been the best and will be looking to stop a Raiders’ offense that has been struggling quite a bit due to injuries. Also, while the Raiders’ defense is quite strong, the secondary will be headed by 2nd and 3rd stringer due to injuries as well.
Will the Chargers take advantage of the Raiders’ secondary? Will the Raiders take advantage of a Chargers’ defense that has a hard time stopping the run? Find out on Sunday wherever the game will be played.
