As 13-point underdogs, the Raiders snapped San Diego’s four-game win streak with a decisive 28-13 victory to sweep the season series.
Heading into the season the Raiders had dropped 13 straight to the Chargers.
The big story was Oakland’s running game. The Raiders rank third in the league with 149 yards rushing per game, but they had been held to a total of 74 yards rushing in back-to-back losses.
Against San Diego, they busted out for 251 yards on the ground with Darren McFadden and Michael Bush combining for 192.
With a 17-6 win over Tennessee, and an Indianapolis loss, the Jacksonville Jaguars (7-5) won for the fourth time in five games to take over sole possession of first place in the AFC South.
The big story for Jacksonville was also the running game. Led by Maurice Jones-Drew, the Jaguars racked up 258 yards rushing on the Titans. That marked the fifth straight game the Jags have rushed for at least 145 yards.
NFL odds makers expect Jacksonville’s running game to be the one that prevails Sunday. They have listed the Jaguars as 4.5-point favorites with the total set at 43.
There’s a good chance Jacksonville will find more running room this week against an Oakland defense yielding 124.3 yards rushing per game (23rd in the NFL).
The Raiders did hold the Chargers to just 21 yards on the ground last week, but San Diego doesn’t have a Jones-Drew.
Jones-Drew has rushed for 100 or more yards in each of the last five games and ranks second in the NFL with 1,177 yards rushing.
The Jaguars have covered the spread in each of their last five games.
Oakland relies heavily on its running game, but yards on the ground don’t figure to come as easy against a Jacksonville defense that has ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
