ÿþ<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>gamepreview </TITLE> <META NAME="Keywords" content="Oakland Raiders, Raiders, Raiders scouting report, National Football League, pro football, pro sports links"> <META NAME="Description" content="Information and commentary on the Oakland Raiders"> <META NAME"Author" content="Joseph DeLoach"> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF TEXT=#000000 LINK=#0000FF ALINK=#FF0000 VLINK=#522994> <table border=0 width=610 cellspacing=5 cellpadding=12 hspace=0 vspace=0> <tr> <! --BEGIN LEFT SIDE NAVIGATION--> <td width=140 BGCOLOR=#EOEOEO VALIGN=top> <CENTER><IMG SRC="sackthumb1206-2009.jpg"></CENTER> <P> <FONT SIZE=2 ALIGN=left> <A HREF="archives.html">Archives</A><p> <A HREF="coaches.html">Coaches</A><p> <A HREF="dayincourt.html">Day in Court</A><p> <A HREF="depthchart.html">Depth Chart</A><p> <A HREF="gamepreview.html">Game Preview</A><P> <A HREF="index.html">Home</A><p> <A HREF="links.html">Links</A><p> <A HREF="roster.html">Roster</A><p> <A HREF="schedule.html">Schedule</A><p> <A HREF="tickets.html">Tickets</A><p> <A HREF="transactions.html">Transactions</A> <P> <A HREF="video-2008.html">Video</A> </FONT> <HR> <FONT SIZE=3> <a href="http://www.ticketcity.com">TicketCity.com</a></FONT> <HR> <a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-3241755-10370403" target="_top"> <img src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-3241755-10370403" width="88" height="31" alt="Buy & Sell Tickets on StubHub!" border="0"/></a></font> <HR> <a href="http://www.pjtra.com/t/R0BGRkpHQ0BIRUxMSkBIREVMSA"><img src="http://www.pjtra.com/b/R0BGRkpHQ0BIRUxMSkBIREVMSA" border="0" width="88" height="31" title="NFLShop.com" alt="NFLShop.com"></a> <HR> <a href="http://www.nflweather.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.nflweather.com/images/button1.jpg" border="0" /></a> <!--END LEFT SIDE NAVIGATION--> </td> <!BEGIN MAIN BODY --> <td width=470 bgcolor=#FFFFFF VALIGN="top"> <P> <CENTER><A HREF="http://www.raidersrap.com/index.html"></CENTER> <CENTER><IMG SRC="raplogo.jpg"></CENTER></A> <P> <CENTER><B><FONT SIZE=6 COLOR=#0000FF>Game Preview</FONT></B></CENTER> <P> <img align=right src=raiderslogo-2010.gif> <img align=left src=chargerslogo-2010.gif> <P> <center><b><font size=3 color=#808080>Raiders at Chargers</font></b></center> <center><b><font size=2 color=#808080>Jan. 1 </font></b></center> <center><b><font size=2 color=#808080>1:15 p.m. (Pacific) </font></b></center> <center><b><font size=2 color=#808080>TV: CBS</font></b></center> <BR> <BR> <BR> <B><FONT SIZE=3 COLOR=#000000>THE SKINNY:</FONT></B> <BR> Oakland (8-7) needs a victory to have a chance to advance to the playoffs as AFC West champs or as a wild card team. The Raiders haven't played in the postseason since the 2002 season. The Raiders will win the AFC West with a victory over the rival Chargers (7-8) and a Denver (8-7) loss or tie against Kansas City (6-9). The Raiders will make the playoffs as a wild card team with an Oakland win over San Diego, a Bengals loss to Baltimore, and either a Titans loss or tie against Houston or a Jets win against Miami, according to the NFL. <P> The Chargers are trying to avoid their first losing season since a 4-12 record in 2003. The Raiders seek their first winning season since a 12-4 record in 2002. San Diego is 2-5 in road games this seaason and Oakland is 3-4 at home. <P> <B><FONT SIZE=3 COLOR=#000000>LAST WEEK:</FONT></B> <BR> The visiting Chargers lost 38-10 to the Detroit Lions; the Raiders beat the host Kansas City Chiefs 16-13 in overtime. <P> <B><FONT SIZE=3 COLOR=#000000>KEY MATCHUPS:</FONT></B> <BR> <IMG SRC="redarrow.gif"><FONT SIZE=3> RB Michael Bush vs. Chargers defense  Bush had 242 scrimmage yards (157 rushing, 85 receiving) in Week 10 win over San Diego, the most scrimmage yards by a Raider since Art Powell's 247 in 1963. Bush needs 89 rushing yards to reach 1,000 for the first time in his NFL career. The Chargers are 20th against the run, allowing 123.5 yards per game. <P> <IMG SRC="redarrow.gif"><FONT SIZE=3> QB Philip Rivers vs. Raiders pass defense  Rivers has thrown for 4,314 yards and 24 TDs with a career-high 19 interceptions this season. Oakland has allowed 28 TD passes, tied with Tampa Bay for second worst in the NFL behind Minnesota's 33 TD passes allowed. <P> <IMG SRC="redarrow.gif"><FONT SIZE=3> QB Carson Palmer vs. Chargers pass defense  Palmer has 15 interceptions in nine games with Oakland, but he threw for 299 yards and two scores with only one INT in a win over the Chargers in Week 10. San Diego is 10th against the pass, allowing 211.6 yards per game. <P> <IMG SRC="redarrow.gif"><FONT SIZE=3> WR Denarius Moore vs. Chargers pass defense  Moore had 123 receiving yards and two TD catches in Oakland's 31-24 win at San Diego on Nov. 10. The rookie from the University of Tennessee had a 61-yard TD catch in the Raiders' 16-13 triumph against Kansas City in Week 16. <P> <B><FONT SIZE=3 COLOR=#000000>STATS OF THE WEEK:</FONT></B> <BR> The Raiders need four penalties for 11 yards to break the NFL single season records of 158 for 1,304 yards by the 1998 Chiefs. <HR> San Diego's Philip Rivers is 25-3 as a starter in December/January games. He's 4-1 in road games against the Raiders. <HR> The Chargers have allowed opponents to convert 48.4 percent of third downs, the worst rate in the league. <HR> Shane Lechler trails Ray Guy by 210 yards for the Raiders franchise lead in punting yards. Lechler punted four times for 217 yards during a Week 16 win over the Chiefs. <HR> Darrius Heyward-Bey needs 155 receiving yards to become the Raiders' first 1,000-yard receiver since Randy Moss (1,005) in 2005. <HR> San Diego tight end Antonio Gates has nine career TD catches against the Raiders. <P> <B><FONT SIZE=3 COLOR=#000000>LAST MEETING:</FONT></B> <BR> Michael Bush has 242 total yards and Denarius Moore hauls in two TD passes from Carson Palmer to lead visiting Oakland to a 31-24 win over San Diego on Nov. 10, 2011. <P> <B><FONT SIZE=3 COLOR=#000000>RECENT HISTORY:</FONT></B> <BR> The Raiders have won three straight games against the Chargers after dropping the previous 13. The Chargers are 6-1 against the Raiders the past seven meetings in Oakland. The Raiders lead the series 58-44-2, including 1-0 postseason. <P> <B><FONT SIZE=3 COLOR=#000000>DID YOU KNOW?:</FONT></B> <BR> San Diego's Philip Rivers needs 186 passing yards to join Dan Fouts (1980-81), Warren Moon (1990-91), Peyton Manning (2009-10) and Drew Brees (2010-11) as the only NFL players with 4,500 or more passing yards in consecutive seasons. <HR> Chargers coach Norv Turner is 7-4 overall against the Raiders. He's 6-3 against Oakland as Chargers coach and 1-1 as Washington Redskins coach. Turner had a 9-23 record in two seasons (2004 & 2005) as Raiders coach. The Martinez, Calif. native has a 51-34 record (including 3-3 playoffs) in four plus seasons with San Diego. <HR> Oakland offensive coordinator Al Saunders was the Chargers head coach 1986-1988. <P> <B><FONT SIZE=3 COLOR=#000000>OPENING LINE:</FONT></B> <BR> Raiders by 3 </FONT> <P> <CENTER><FONT SIZE=2 COLOR=#FF0000>Updated: 12-28-2011 </FONT></CENTER> <P> <CENTER> <FONT SIZE=2 COLOR=#D63194>For more on this week's game:</FONT> </CENTER> <CENTER> <FONT SIZE=2> <a href="http://www.nfl.com">NFL.com</a> <BR> <a href="http://www.raiders.com/home">Raiders.com</a> | <a href="http://www.chargers.com">Chargers.com</A> <P> <center><b><font size=2>OAKLAND RAIDERS RAP</b></font></center> <P> <CENTER><FONT SIZE=2> <a href="archives.html">Archives</a> | <a href="dayincourt.html">Court</a> | <A HREF="index.html">Home</A> | <a href="links.html">Links</a> | <a href="schedule.html">Schedule</a> | <a href="tickets.html">Tickets</a> </CENTER></FONT> <P> <center><img src="bigfootball.gif"> </center> <P> <center><img src="raplogo2.jpg"></center> </TR> </TD> </TABLE> </BODY></HTML>