The Oakland Raiders face the Los Angeles Chargers at home and want to take the victory, as for the loser of this match gets placed in the last place in the AFC West. The Raiders are under a lot of pressure lately since they were a team that was thought to be one of the best. However, three losses in a row put the Silver and Black in another perspective when arguing on who is the best in the league.
Against the Chargers, the Raiders will have it rough since their secondary is hurting badly, not only with performance but with injuries as well. Quarterback Philip Rivers is always trigger happy and has been so far this season with the Chargers.
In fact, he ranks in 6th with passing attempts at 194.
In the end, the matchup is quite even for both teams. The Chargers will be looking into attacking the poor secondary unit by the Raiders. While the Raiders will most likely take advantage of the Chargers’ weak defense period, which has allowed 351 yards per game.
Hurt Players from Raiders’ Secondary
Cornerback Antonio Hamilton suffered a torn meniscus in last weekend’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. David Amerson has been missing with a shoulder injury and will not be available in Week 6 for the Oakland Raiders.
Another major cornerback is Gareon Conley, who has not seen action since the beginning of the season. Conley sustained an injury during camp and cannot shake the pain away.
According to Coach Jack Del Rio, Conley has been 100 percent due to this pain. Therefore, his absence will prolong until the pain is under control.
Key to Success Against the Chargers
The Oakland Raiders need to take control of the ground game. In the past five weeks, it has not taken off as it should have. Marshawn Lynch has been lacking spark and cannot get consistency rolling.
Lynch looked good in the first two weeks but was shut down in the next two against the Washington Redskins and the Denver Broncos.
Last weekend, Lynch got a touchdown but did not get much on yardage, 43 in 12 attempts. Perhaps the Raiders need to incorporate Jalen Richard more. With Lynch and Richard splitting the carries, the Chargers could falter and not be able to stop the run.
In fact, the Chargers are one of the worst at stopping the ground game. The LA team is allowing an average of 161 yards per game on the ground. So, the Raiders need to take advantage of that and pound with two running backs instead of one.
The Raiders must also protect Derek Carr who is coming back this weekend. The Chargers have pass rusher Melvin Ingram who ranks second in the league with 7.5 sacks. That is crucial for the Raiders and must keep an eye on that guy, since Carr has a hurt back, injuring it two weeks ago against the Broncos.
In the end, the Raiders need the win in order to stay alive in the race and to have a reputation of being a team to reckon with the league. So far, injuries and grave mistakes have taken a huge toll on this team. So for Week 6, the Raiders will come out to win or basically lose the reputation of being one of the best.
