Category: NFL

San Francisco 49ers podcast with David Zizmor: Who’s really to blame for the 49ers’ loss to the Cardinals Sunday?

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Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports photo: San Francisco 49ers quarterback CJ Beathard hopes to get things turned around on Monday Night Football Oct 15th at the Frozen Tundra in Green Bay’s Lambeau Field

On the 49ers podcast with David:

#1 How much optimism if any walked out Levi’s Stadium after losing to a winless Arizona Cardinals team last Sunday? What’s the 49ers morale like now?

#2 Talk about the offense. Was it a matter 49ers quarterback CJ Beathard not getting any support because of five turnovers or was it was Beathard who let the team down?

David Zizmor does the 49ers podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Chargers’ 26-10 win drops the Raiders to 1-4 on the season

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Photo credit: @Raiders

By Jeremy Kahn

Once again, the Oakland Raiders are full of excuses after yet another loss to a division opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers, during the 2018 season.

Philip Rivers found Austin Ekeler for a 44-yard touchdown pass, as the Chargers broke a 3-3 tie on their way to a 26-10 victory over the Raiders at Stubhub Center on Sunday.

That touchdown from Rivers to Ekeler started a 19-0 run for the Chargers, as the Raiders fall to 1-4 on the season.

Ekeler’s touchdown reception began very strangely, as Rivers bobbled the snap on first-and-10; however, he was able to get rid of it, while getting away from three blitzing Raiders defenders. The running back got away from two Raiders at the 40 yard-line, and then got a key block from Keenan Allen on his way to the end zone to the give the Chargers the lead for good with just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter.

That was one of four plays of 25 yards or more for the Chargers, who have 29 plays of 20 yards or more on the season. Only the Chargers cross-town rival, the Los Angeles Rams and long-time rival, the Kansas City Chiefs have more with 30.

Rivers ended the afternoon with 339 yards, and it was the 59th career 300-yard game since he joined the NFL in 2004. It was also the eighth 300-yard game against the Raiders, as he went 22-for-27 on the afternoon.

Melvin Gordon rushed for 58 yards and was on the receiving end for 62 yards, as he extended the Chargers lead up to 17-3 at the half on a one-yard touchdown run.

The Gordon touchdown was setup when Martavis Bryant fumbled the ball, and Jahleel Addae recovered the fumble at the Raiders’ 45-yard line.

Derek Carr was sacked three times, and the Raiders turned the ball over twice, giving the Chargers 13 points.

It was a tough night for Marshawn Lynch, who entered the game fourth in the NFL in rushing was held to just nine carries for 31 yards.

Carr went 24-for-33 for 268 yards with a touchdown and an interception that of course brought another excuse from Jon Gruden.

With the ball on the Chargers one-yard line, Carr threw an ill-fated interception instead of handing the ball off to Lynch and was reminded people of the Pete Carroll call at the end of Super Bowl 49, when Russell Wilson threw an interception instead of handing the ball off to Lynch and ended costing the Seattle Seahawks a chance at their second consecutive Super Bowl Championship.

“We had bad plays today,” said Gruden. “I think we pressed a little bit. The play calling needs to improve. That’s my job. We’ve got to play better collectively than we did today.”

In all four of their losses, Gruden has made excuses and yet here is another one just five games into the season.

UP NEXT: After the short trip to Southern California, the Raiders return “HOME,” for their next home game on October 28th at 1:05 pm PT; however, the game against the Seattle Seahawks is in London next Sunday at 10:00 am PT.

This is the Raiders second trip to London, with their coming during the 2014 season, where the Raiders lost to the Miami Dolphins before a crowd of 83,436 at Wembley Stadium.

Overall, this the fourth game that the Raiders will have played since 2014, as they defeated the Houston Texans at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, by the final score of 27-20 in 2016 and then last season, the Raiders returned to Estadio Azteca, where they lost to the New England Patriots 33-8.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in the 49ers’ 28-18 Loss to the Cardinals

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Photo credit: @49ers

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA–Any optimism left in the 2018 season for the 49ers walked out of Levi’s Stadium disgusted on Sunday after the Arizona Cardinal’s picked up their first win of the season with a 28-18 victory over San Francisco.

The Niners can’t seem to shake the constants in their season that continue to cost them games. Injuries, penalties, turnovers, and missed tackles continue to be the Achilles heel of the red and gold, and there’s no sign of the bleeding to come to an end. On Sunday, injuries and turnovers once again delivered the knock-out blow.

The Ugly
Statistics show that when a team is minus-one in the turnover differential mark, they have an 80% chance of losing the game. On Sunday, the 49ers coughed up the ball five times, while the Cardinals didn’t lose the ball once.

Four of them came from C.J. Beathard with two interceptions and two strip sacks, including a scoop and score that gave Arizona a 21-12 lead and ended the game.

The other turnover came on Raheem Mostert’s first carry of the season before Patrick Peterson returned it 49 yards, setting up Arizona’s second TD.

The only reason Mostert even touched the ball was due to injury. After rushing eight times for 56 yards, including a long of 17 yards, it looked like Matt Breida was once again off to an explosive start. That is, until his eighth carry of the game, when he went down with a left ankle sprain that prevented him from returning.

The Bad
After the Niners scored first, they, of course, missed the extra point attempt due to a bad snap. Robbie Gould didn’t even attempt to kick it.

Arizona didn’t take long to come right back in it. On his best play of the day, Josh Rosen immediately went deep and hooked up with Christian Kirk on a 75-yard play action pass that found the end zone. The Cardinals did make the extra point to go up 7-6.

The 49ers pass rush remains one of the worst in all of football. Despite, holding Rosen to an abysmal 10-of-25 for 170 yards, the Niners were only able to sack him once and hit him four times.

The lone sack came from Cassius Marsh, caused by a bad snap that Rosen had to pick up. The three other QB hits came from DeForest Buckner, who remains the only playmaker the defense seems to have.

With a rookie quarterback that is struggling on the worst team in the league, the defense needs to be better. Instead, they let him walk in and collect the first win of his career throwing only nine completions for 95 yards after his first play of the game.

David Johnson found the end zone twice for the Cardinals. Thanks to excellent field position, he was held to a total of 55 yards, but still finished with a productive day with his second coming in garbage time in the fourth quarter to extend Arizona’s lead to 28-12.

On top of the missed PAT from Robbie Gould, he also missed a 45-yard field goal in the fourth quarter that ended his franchise-long 33 straight field goals made.

The Good
There aren’t too many positives to take from San Francisco’s most embarrassing loss in recent memory, especially when you have five turnovers. However, on the drives where San Francisco didn’t turnover the ball, it wasn’t completely awful.

On the opening drive, Beathard found rhythm with Kyle Juszczyk connecting on two big plays for a combined 44 yards that led the team down the field. The Niners cruised down the field before Breida found paydirt on a quick shovel pass from Beathard for the opening score.

Juszczyk caught six of the seven passes sent his way for 75 yards.

Beathard’s numbers looked okay too (of course, minus the turnovers). He threw 34-of-53 for 349 yards and two touchdowns. He once again worked well with George Kittle, who’s beginning to look like the only weapon left on defense. Kittle caught five passes for 83 yards, including the Niners’ biggest offensive play of the day at 45 yards.

The Niners racked up 447 yards of total offense and held the ball for an astonishing 40:12, but again gave the ball up five times.

Of course, there’s no silver lining when your team loses at home to the worst team in football, except for the fact that the Faithful will give up on the season and pull for a better draft pick.

Hey, the Niners just moved ahead of Arizona on the draft board.

Raiders three-point stance: Three takeaways from Raiders’ loss to Chargers in SoCal

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Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

CARSON, Calif — One week after exploding for 45 points to earn their first win of the season over the visiting Cleveland Browns, the Raiders struggled to find any offensive continuity Sunday losing to the Los Angeles Chargers 26-10.

Here are my takeaways from the Raiders (1-4) loss to their AFC West rival the Chargers (3-2):

Derek Carr and the offense didn’t show up
For an offense that ranks second in the NFL in total yardage coming into Week 5 averaging 441.8 yards per game, the Chargers’ defense held Oakland to 289 yards total for the game. The Silver and Black were pedestrian on third down, converting just 4-of-11 and were just 1-of-3 in the red zone.

Carr, who threw for 437 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions last week, took a step back against Los Angeles, completing 24-of-33 passes for  268 yards one touchdown. But it was the kiss-of-death interception in the end zone that Carr threw in the third quarter with Oakland trailing 20-3 that really stung Oakland.

After Chargers safety Derwin James was called for defensive pass interference in the end zone while defending Raiders tight end Jared Cook, setting up Oakland with first-and-goal at the Chargers’ 1-yard-line, Carr didn’t see Chargers defensive end Melvin Ingram drop back into the end zone and threw the ball right to him.

It was Carr’s league-leading eighth interception of the year, one of two turnovers for Oakland on the day.  Carr was also sacked three times.

Running back Marshawn Lynch, who at the age of 32 (when running backs are expected to be passed their primes) should be carrying the football 20 times a game, had just nine carries for 31 yards after his 20-carry, 130-yard rushing performance last week.

Inexcusable.

Amari Cooper is a week-to-week wide receiver
I’ve noticed a glowing pattern in Amari Cooper’s games this season that is alarming. Whenever Cooper has a tremendous game one week, the very next week he follows it up with a dud:

  • Week 1 against the Rams: 1 catch for 9 yards 3 targets.
  • Week 2 against the Broncos: 10 catches for 116 yards on 16 targets.
  • Week 3 against the Dolphins: 2 catches for 17 yards on 5 targets.
  • Week 4 against the Browns: 8 catches for 128 yards and one touchdown on 12 targets.

Can you guess what he did against the Chargers today? 1 catch for 10 yards on one target.

There’s no question that Cooper has special talent with game-changing ability, but what gives? How can anyone say that Cooper is a No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL if he has the knack for missing in games?

Backup running back Jalen Richard led Oakland with six catches for

But good news for Raider Nation heading into Week 6.

Next week, Cooper should have a big day against the Seattle Seahawks when the Raiders travel to London for a “home” game.

Philip Rivers and the Chargers’ offense sliced up the Raiders’ defense
Rivers carved up the Raiders on Sunday, throwing for 339 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions on 22-of-27 passing. The 15-year veteran from North Carolina State was sacked just once by Raiders linebacker Bruce Irvin, but had time to find his receivers for most of the game.

Wide receiver Keenan Allen was the main beneficiary of Rivers’ passes, hauling in eight passes (on 9 targets) for 90 yards. Backup rookie running back Austin Ekeler (44-yard touchdown) and backup tight end Virgil Green (13-yard touchdown), caught both of Rivers’ touchdowns.

Rivers has now thrown 43 touchdowns against the Silver and Black, the most Rivers has thrown against one team.

Starting running back Melvin Gordon was all over the field Sunday rushing and catching the football for Los Angeles. Gordon finished with 120 all-purpose yards against Oakland (19 carries for 58 yards and one touchdown; 4 catches for 62 yards on 4 targets).

Los Angeles piled up 412 total yards offensively on Oakland and controlled the time of possession, holding onto the football for 34:40 minutes to the Raiders’ 25:20.

Linebacker Tahir Whitehead had a game-high nine tackles (6 solo) for Oakland.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Raiders head to Carson to face LA Chargers in West AFC battle

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raiderswire.com photo: Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has been some throwing some career-like games, but the best is yet to come in Los Angeles and London this Sunday and on October 14th.

On the Raiders podcast with Joe:

#1 The Raiders, who just got by the Cleveland Browns at the Oakland Coliseum, will play their third road game in four weeks and a fourth road game in London on October 14th. This will be a real road test for team.

#2 The last time these two teams met, the Chargers defeated the Raiders last season in LA by a score of 30-10. Do you see the matchup from last year to this year being any different minus no Khalil Mack?

#3 Raiders quarterback Derek Carr engineered a six-play, 53-yards in 58 seconds that wound up Carr throwing a seven-yard touchdown to Jared Cook that was crucial as every point counted in this one.

#4 How magical is Carr on setting up  35-of-58 passes for 437 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions as the Raiders recorded 565 yards of total offense against the Browns (1-2-1), the most by any team this season?

#5 So with Carr throwing some good ball, how’s this going to go down in the next two weeks with matches in LA and in London forthcoming?

Joe does the Raiders podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers podcast with Joe Lami: Lots of injuries, but Beathard hopes to persevere against the Cardinals on Sunday

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Photo credit: ninerswire.usatoday.com

On the 49ers podcast with Joe:

#1 The Arizona Cardinals have had problems all season, including taking a 0-4 record into Levis Stadium this Sunday against the 49ers. Can the 49ers get win number two against a wounded Cardinal team?

#2 Speaking of wounded, 49er quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had surgery on Wednesday morning for the torn ACL left knee. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said it was too early to predict when Garoppolo would be back.

#3 49ers running back Jerick McKinnon, who had his ACL torn on September 1st, was on crutches with a brace for his right knee related to Garoppolo’s injury, saying the only thing they could do is push each other during the next nine months to recover.

#4 C.J. Beathard had a good outing against the LA Chargers at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday. It may only be one game, but could that be an indication that Beathard will have the ability to make some plays this Sunday against the Cardinals?

#5 Left tackle Joe Staley, center Weston Richburg and right tackle Mike McGlinchey didn’t practice. All three suffered knee injuries during Sunday’s against the Chargers.

Joe Lami does the 49ers podcasts and is the 49ers beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Raiders say they will leave Oakland after this season if city continues its lawsuit

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Las Vegas Review-Journal photo: A rendering of the Las Vegas Raiders stadium project. (MANICA Architecture)

On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony:

The Oakland Raiders have made it clear that they will leave the Oakland Coliseum for other digs. The city is near filing a anti trust suit against the Raiders for leaving for Las Vegas after the 2019 season or 2020 season at the latest. The Cal Bears Memorial Stadium was thought to be a place where the Raiders could play in if they bolted the Coliseum after this season, but the Bears have said that they have limited parking and for an NFL game it wouldn’t be a suitable site to accommodate that many autos.

Any thoughts of the Raiders playing in the South Bay at either Levis Stadium in Santa Clara or at Spartan Stadium in San Jose were also out of the questions. The Raiders and 49ers front offices are noted for not getting along, Levi’s Stadium is out, and Spartan Stadium is too small to suit an NFL team as the Spartans’ capacity is 30,456. The Raiders’ only other option might be at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) if all else fails.

The Raiders’ narrow win to the Cleveland Browns 45-42–would that game be considered an improvement or they still have a long way to go? The Raiders play in Carson this weekend against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5. For Week 6, they fly to London for a match with the Seattle Seahawks.

Tony Renteria does the Oakland Raiders podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com each Thursday

NFL Thursday Night Week 5: Here’s Your Written Fantasy Football Prescription

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DiehardFIN

by Dr. Vasu Vaddiparty

Week 5 of the NFL has a matchup of two teams who have played just ok to start the year. The Patriots, everyone’s gold standard has been nothing short of pedestrian the first 3 weeks but then, after the ugly upset in Detroit two Sunday nights ago, came back and showed the 1st place and previously undefeated Dolphins that they are not exactly conceding the AFC East yet with a 38-7 win in which all three phases played extremely well. Specifically, the defense who had been shell-shocked stepped up and held Miami to very little offensive production.

The Colts have started out 1-3 but have been very competitive in all four games including a big upset win at Washington who some believe could win the NFC East. The Colts had the lead vs. the Bengals in week 1 but the defense let them down. The Redskins win was very big. The Eagles loss was late in the 4th and because of Luck’s arm strength, not all the way back had to use their backup Brissett for late heave on the final play of the game. Last week, after coming back down 14 to send it to OT, they decided to forgo a punt and a potential tie to end up losing in OT to Houston.

The question here is can the Colts be competitive at New England a place that has been a house of horrors including the bludgeoning by the Pats in the AFC Championship game some years ago, that eventually lead to the whole “Deflate-Gate” situation. Ever since then the Patriots have made it a personal mission to go after the Colts every time.

The Thursday preview of Fantasy Football ramifications will be broken down below between the Patriots and Colts to get you a good jump on your week.

Colts

QB

Andrew Luck is certainly back and has shown the competitive fire when he was completely healthy in his first few years. Post-surgery has been a question mark of exactly how healthy he is. He’s had 4 pretty good games but the arm strength is not there. That was never more evident than the end of the game in week 3 vs. Philadelphia when they took him out on the final play of the game. Luck is a good choice because he doesn’t make mistakes and won’t cost owners negative points. The Patriots defense hasn’t been good all year until this last weekend. This is a spot where Luck could succeed but if there are other options I would use them. This could be a tough spot for Luck considering the history between the two teams and the way the Patriots played last weekend.

RB

This section of the Colt’s preview is going to consist of one sentence. Unless you have bye-weeks and injury, there are no options for the Colts from the RB standpoint. Wilkins and Hymes are the two main backs for Indy but these are clearly RB3 and RB4 options. Not to totally dump on them Hymes did have nine catches for 63 yards last week in the OT Loss vs. Houston. All in all, if you have to rely on the Colts RB for fantasy points then you can expect a loss without having to worry about other positions.

WR / TE

Receivers are a different story for the Colts because of Luck and his ability to find open receivers. They have had success in the air for the four weeks so far this season. TY Hilton has been Luck’s “go to” receiver, but he will not be available on Thursday night due to injury. He would be a 1.5 or WR2 on any fantasy team because Luck will look for him. Ryan Grant the former Redskins player is another option for Luck. Luck’s lack of arm strength enables the offense to get quick short passes out and this could be an option for a TE with the skill of Eric Ebron as a solid TE2. He has been a very good option through the first four weeks and should be a decent option.

Patriots

QB

Tom Brady, Tom Brady, Tom Brady. He is everyone’s QB1. While his numbers have not been great this year, he has the ability to pick up numbers. The running game has featured a few injuries and potential roadblocks to a decent running game. This could be a great spot for Brady to attack the Colt’s defense. Coming off a big victory last week vs. Miami and at 2-2 challenging for the division again should be enough motivation for Tom Terrific to have one of his great, or at least really, really, really good game. Not to mention whenever he is on National TV he always seems to rise to the top. Start him!!

RB

Rex Burkhead has been up and down and suffered an injury that caused him to miss last week vs. Miami and that has now landed him on the IR list. James White has been in the system for a few years. He has been effective but nothing more than a solid RB3 because there are other options that can be used. However, the star of the blowout last week was rookie RB Sony Michel. The rookie from Georgia is a quick, small load. 112 yards last week on 25 carries. Granted a lot of that was after the Pats established a big lead but he is an effective back and if the Patriots get out to a big lead again look for him to get a good workload going. He is a solid RB2 for your team.

WR / TE

Rob Gronkowski came out early last week against Miami with a non-serious injury. Bumps and bruises are starting to get in the way of fantasy football owners as well as bye weeks. Check your injury reports to find out what his status is. You may not know until near game time what Gronk’s status is but the faster we find out the faster the click to No. 1 TE button and start him. He’s the best TE or definitely top 3 so he’s a clear TE1 pending injury status. Phillip Dorsett has become a deep threat for Brady since the loss of Cooks from last year. The big question is how much will Josh Gordon be implemented into the offense. With the potential of Gronk being out feeling is that Gordon knowing the playbook better and the Colts secondary not playing very well could be another factor to make Gordon a starter on your team this week. WR1.5 or WR2 is the most likely spot for Gordon because of the ability for Tom Brady to utilize his entire offensive weapons.

Special Teams/ Defense

Both special teams and defenses have been shaky at best. Though the Colts has played pretty well before week 4’s OT loss vs. Houston. 34 vs. Cincinnati, 9 in a win vs. Washington, 20 vs. Philadelphia and 37 vs. Houston. Lots of yards and lots of points on defense has gotten them off to a 1-3 start. Not a good play on the Colts defense. The Patriots gave up 20 to a struggling Houston offense in a win, 31 given up to a so-so offense in Jacksonville in a loss, 24 to a Lions team whose offense is pretty good but a bad night overall. Last week looked the part for NE has they had all phases working but defensively was outstanding giving up 7 points and thoroughly stifling the Dolphins offense. This is a good play for the Patriots to start as a defense for the following reasons; it’s Thursday night football, a home game and finally the last game of domination against Miami.

Overall Matchup

Patriots are -10 with an over/under of 51. This might be a low number based on last Sunday’s game if, in fact, the Patriots are back from their dominant win over Miami. The Colts could find themselves in a tough spot coming off an OT Loss on Sunday and then trying to get ready for a potential Super Bowl contender only 3 days rest. This could be a bad spot for Indy and NE licking their chops. This is where Belichick and the coaches are the best prepared when it comes to preparing for two opponents at the same time.

Patriots 27

Colts 10

 

Don’t forget to listen to our Fantasy Football Doctors podcast with Dr. Charlie O. Mallonee and myself Dr. Vasu Vaddiparty on SportsServiceRadio.com for the rest of the NFL as it relates to Fantasy Football.

Any correspondence you may have can be sent to my twitter account @VPartySports or directly to Sports Service Radio.

49ers look to get back on track vs. winless Cardinals

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Photo credit: @49ers

By Jeremy Harness

The 49ers have been banged up all season thus far, but they have stayed competitive throughout, when it has seemed that all has been lost.

That should help, as they prepare to face the Arizona Cardinals, who have yet to win a game in this young season, Sunday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium, in a game featuring a pair of struggling teams that had lofty expectations heading into the season.

C.J. Beathard kept the 49ers in the game but ultimately could not bring his team to victory on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers, as a pair of interceptions–including one that put the brakes on the 49ers’ last drive of the game–proved to be his undoing.

He will look to improve on his performance at home Sunday afternoon, but he will have a rather-depleted lineup to work with. For starters, left tackle Joe Staley injured his knee against the Chargers, and he did not practice Wednesday because of it.

Meanwhile, running back Matt Breida was limited in practice on Wednesday with a shoulder injury he’s been dealing with, while guard Mike Person was limited with a knee injury of his own.

To add to all of that, receiver Dante Pettis also injured his knee early on in Sunday’s game and did not practice on Wednesday, while fellow receiver Marquise Goodwin is nursing hamstring and quadricep issues and was held out of Wednesday’s practice.

Like the 49ers, the Cardinals have a new starting quarterback in rookie Josh Rosen, who impressed the Arizona brass in his NFL debut in nearly pulling out the win against Seattle last Sunday.

For Arizona, star receiver Larry Fitzgerald is dealing with hamstring and back issues and did not practice on Wednesday, although he is expected to play Sunday. Also expected to play on Sunday are tight end Jermaine Gresham and tackle Andre Smith, and both were limited in practice

Raiders head to Southern California for AFC West matchup with Chargers

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Photo credit: @Raiders

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND — The Raiders hit the road again, their third road game in the last four weeks, when they travel to StubHub Center to take on the Los Angeles Chargers in a classic AFC West battle. Kickoff for this Week 5 matchup is set for this Sunday, Oct. 7 at 1:05 p.m. PT.

Los Angeles owns a two-game winning streak over Oakland however, the Raiders own a 62-52-1 record over the Bolts. In their previous meeting last season, the Chargers took down the Silver and Black 30-10 in Los Angeles.

The Raiders (1-3) finally got into the win column last week, defeating the visiting Cleveland Browns in thrilling fashion 45-42 in overtime. With Oakland trailing 42-34 with 1:28 left in the game and with no timeouts, Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr engineered a 6-play, 53-yard drive in 58 seconds that culminated in a 7-yard touchdown throw to tight end Jared Cook. It was Cook’s second score of the game. Carr would hit wide receiver Jordy Nelson for the 2-point conversion that would tie the game up at 42-42 heading into overtime.

On the final possession of overtime, Carr orchestrated an 11-play, 70-yard drive where he completed passes to four different receivers to setup undrafted rookie kicker Matt McCrane’s game-winning 29-yard field goal. It was Carr’s 14th game-winning drive in the fourth quarter and overtime, second-most in the NFL since Carr’s rookie season in 2014.

Carr finished the game completing 35-of-58 passes for 437 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions as the Raiders recorded 565 yards of total offense against the Browns (1-2-1), the most by any team this season.

Through four games, Carr has thrown six touchdowns and is third in the NFL in completion percentage (71.0) and fourth in passing yards (1,373), but has thrown seven interceptions, the most by any starting quarterback this season.

Against Cleveland, Oakland registered a 400-yard passer in Carr, a 100-yard rusher in running back Marshawn Lynch (who finished with 20 carries for 130 yards), and two-100 yard receivers in wide receiver Amari Cooper (8 catches for 128 yards and one touchdown) and the aforementioned Cook (8 catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns). It was the first time since 1964 that the Raiders achieved that milestone.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Raiders are the first team since the 2013 Denver Broncos to achieve the same milestone in a game.

Along with Minnesota and Tampa Bay, the Raiders have recorded a 100-yard receiver in four straight weeks this season, the only teams to do so in the NFL, according to NFL metrics.

Oakland is averaging 24.2 points per game, which ranks 13th in the NFL, but the Raiders rank second in total yards (441.8) and fourth in passing yards (333) per game.

Defensively, the Raiders forced four turnovers off Browns’ rookie quarterback, Baker Mayfield who made his first career start against the Silver and Black. Mayfield fumbled twice (losing both and recovered by defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins) and intercepted twice, one being returned 36 yards for the game’s first touchdown by second-year cornerback Gareon Conley in the first quarter.

Veteran linebacker Bruce Irvin and rookie defensive tackle Maurice Hurst each recorded a sack for Oakland, who will need to apply pressure to Chargers’ quarterback Philip Rivers. The Raiders rank 27th in total defense, but 31st in points surrendered per game (30.8).

Now in his 15th season, Rivers is off to a hot start for the Chargers and doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

Through four games, Rivers has passed for 1,156 yards with 11 touchdowns to just two interceptions while sporting a blistering 110.8 passer rating this season.

Rivers and the Chargers (2-2) picked up their second win of the season, defeating the San Francisco 49ers by a slim score of 29-27 last Sunday at StubHub Center. Rivers completed 25-of-39 passes for 250 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

In his career against the Raiders, Rivers owns a 16-8 record. Rivers has thrown for 6,055 yards, 41 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in 24 games against the Silver and Black. The 41 touchdowns against Oakland are tied with the Denver Broncos for the most touchdown passes against one team for Rivers.

Running back Melvin Gordon had a productive day against San Francisco, rushing for 104 yards on 14 carries. Gordon also hauled in seven catches (tied for the game-high with wide receiver Keenan Allen) for 55 yards and one touchdown.

Gordon can do it all for the Chargers both as a runner and pass-catcher out of the backfield. In fact, Gordon is tied with Allen for the team lead in catches (24) and tied with wide receiver Mike Williams for the team lead in touchdown catches with three through four games.

The fourth-year running back from Wisconsin is the team’s leading rusher with 54 carries for 276 yards and two touchdowns.

Allen leads the team with 282 receiving yards this season.

In the past, the Chargers’ defense were headlined by defensive ends Melvin Ingram and Joey, but rookie safety Derwin James has become a force for Los Angeles this season.

The 6’2″, 215-pound James leads the team with 20 tackles, one interception and has recorded three of the Chargers’ eight sacks this season. The Chargers have been thrilled with the Florida State product the they selected him 17th overall in April’s draft.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will travel to London, England for a “home” game against the Seattle Seahawks at Wembley Stadium in Week 6, the third straight season the Raiders will play in the United Kingdom.

The Chargers head to Cleveland to take on the Browns on Sunday, October 14 at 10:00 a.m. PT.