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Raiders vs. Chargers Gambling Odds & Week 17 Free NFL Pick

Oakland vs San Diego Betting?

California Clunkers – Raiders Visit Chargers to Wrap Up Brutal Campaigns

Two of the more disappointing teams in the NFL assemble for the final time in 2012 when the free-falling Oakland Raiders head south to take on the San Diego Chargers. Both teams have work to do on Sunday but that work is nothing compared to the overhaul that is certain for each during the offseason.

Oakland Raiders (4-11) vs. San Diego Chargers (6-9)
Date/Time: Sunday, December 30, 4:25 PM ET
Venue: Qualcomm Stadium
Broadcast: CBS
Raiders vs. Chargers Betting Lines from betonline.com
Spread: No Lines Available
Moneyline:
Over/Under:

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Roster spots for next year are on the line and so is a little pride as both teams ride off into the sunset with their tails tucked between their legs!

The Oakland Raiders find themselves in an all-too-familiar position heading into the final week of the regular season- among the worst teams in the NFL with seemingly few answers on the horizon. Oakland definitely has some gaping holes that they will need to fill in the offseason – they have been underwhelming to say the least on both sides of the ball. Add in the fact that the team will be forced to play without Carson Palmer who was injured last week and Week 17 could even be worse than the 16 weeks of ugly football that preceded it.

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The Raiders enter Week 17 with the 8th best passing game in the NFL but with either Matt Leinart or Tyrell Pryor starting at QB this team will be nowhere near the 262 yards that they have averaged this season. It may be up to Oakland’s 29th ranked running game to get it done – Ugh! Darren McFadden is averaging 3.3 yards per carry with two touchdowns and he has 40 catches but he missed a good portion of the season – horrible numbers for someone considered at Top 5 back in this league.

Oakland is 29th in the NFL in scoring – 17.93 points per game. I don’t see them improving on those numbers this week especially with their lone effective offensive player on the sidelines.

Defensively the Raiders have been an absolute mess! They enter Week 17 22nd against the pass and 20th versus the run. Oakland allows a whopping 27.93 points per game – 30th in the NFL. Ugly numbers indeed!

The San Diego Chargers’ window for success seems to be closing and with that so does Norv Turner’s tenure as Head Coach. The Chargers are due for major change – something that WILL happen at the conclusion of this year. San Diego’s offense has been underwhelming to say the least so far but the defense has looked OK. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

The Chargers were supposed to have a stellar offense in 2012 but instead this unit became one of the bigger disappointments in the NFL – they ranked 23rd in passing, a miserable 27th in rushing and they scored 21.73 points per game – 19th in the NFL. Philip Rivers has completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 24 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while being sacked 47 times. Ryan Mathews averages 3.8 yards per carry and he had 39 catches out of the backfield but he has failed to reach the lofty expectations from when he was drafted. Malcolm Floyd has 56 catches and five touchdowns, Antonio Gates has 47 catches, and Danario Alexander has 36 catches.

Defensively, San Diego appears to have some pieces in place – they are 4th against the run and 18th versus the pass and they allow 21.93 points per game – 15th in the NFL. They won’t have to be great against Oakland in Week 17 – they will just have to be OK.

Betting Prediction

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A few trends to consider:

• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oakland’s last 5 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Oakland’s last 7 games when playing on the road against San Diego
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oakland’s last 6 games when playing San Diego
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oakland’s last 6 games on the road
• The total has gone UNDER in 6 of San Diego’s last 7 games when playing at home against Oakland
• San Diego is 15-3 SU in its last 18 games when playing Oakland
• San Diego is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Oakland
• The total has gone UNDER in 14 of San Diego’s last 19 games at home

The Oakland Raiders were a bad enough team with Carson Palmer at the helm and with him already ruled OUT for Sunday it is nearly impossible to see the Raiders succeeding on the road. Although I certainly don’t love San Diego, this may be the easiest pick of the weekend!

Pick: San Diego Chargers

By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.