Raiders at Chargers
When San Diego takes the field Sunday at home against Oakland, it will have gone more than a month without a victory - a stunning development given its solid 5-1 start. The last of those five wins was a 31-28 triumph over the Raiders, which provided the first signs of an oncoming slump, as woeful Oakland had every answer before a late rally let the Chargers escape with the win. San Diego then descended into a three-game slide capped by an embarrassing 37-0 loss at Miami on Nov. 2 prior to a bye week.
Including the Week 6 win in Oakland, San Diego has handed the Raiders two of their 15 straight losses - the last of which was a 41-17 defeat against Denver at home last Sunday. Oakland's slide is four shy of its franchise record established in 1961-62 and it includes seven consecutive road defeats, but none by more than 10 points. The Raiders managed 222 total yards in the blowout loss to the Broncos and enter Week 11 ranked last in the league in total offense (281.2 yards per game) by a wide margin.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Chargers -10. O/U: 44.5
ABOUT THE RAIDERS (0-9): In a seemingly endless pursuit of positives, Oakland has seen flashes of quality play from rookie quarterback Derek Carr, most notably in the previous encounter with San Diego on Oct. 12, when he threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns in a duel with Philip Rivers. Carr, who already owns club rookie records for passing yards and touchdowns, has recorded 88 completions over the past three weeks for a team that is often playing catch-up through the air and rarely has any support from a running game that produces a league-worst 62.1 yards per game. As Carr has begun to chuck the ball around a bit more, tight end Mychal Rivera has become a popular target - reeling in 21 catches and three TDs over the last three weeks.
ABOUT THE CHARGERS (5-4): The bye week has allowed San Diego to return to health, as running back Ryan Mathews and linebacker Manti Te'o are among several banged-up players who have returned to full participation in practice. "When there's depth, there's no falloff when a guy has to sit down for a second," linebacker Dwight Freeney told ESPN.com this week. Freeney and his fellow pass-rushers were unable to get a sack against Carr in Week 6, but the unit could be bolstered by the expected returns of linebackers Melvin Ingram (hip) and Jeremiah Attaochu (hamstring).
EXTRA POINTS
1. Rivers has 1,833 yards and 18 TDs against four interceptions in his last seven home games.
2. Raiders S Charles Woodson has 58 career interceptions, tied for 11th in NFL history with Emmitt Thomas and four behind Dave Brown and Dick LeBeau.
3. Mathews, who is expected to receive roughly 15 touches, ran for 1,255 yards in 2013 but has been limited to two games this season due to a knee injury.