The Oakland Raiders responded well after a disappointing loss in Week 8 to the Houston Texans, coming back home to the Coliseum and defeating the Detroit Lions in a 31-24 thriller.
Both Derek Carr and Matthew Stafford took turns carving up the defenses as they were able to exchange several big passing plays to their receivers. However, it was Carr who would come up with the win when he found Hunter Renfrow at the edge of the end zone for what would end up being the game-winning touchdown.
The Raiders will not get much time to celebrate their win, however, as they immediately have to begin preparing for a Week 10 tilt with the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football. Thursday night games have not been very popular amongst players and coaches and Jon Gruden is no different.
Gruden made it no secret how he feels about the quick turnaround games, via Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group:
Gruden on short turnaround: `I hate this. I don't believe in this Thursday football. I'm not going to be on my soap box any more than that. It hurts us. It hurts both teams. We take a lot of pride in getting our guys ready to play. We need a little time to do that. ' #Raiders
— Jerry McDonald (@Jerrymcd) November 4, 2019
Thursday Night Football is widely unpopular for teams as playing two games in five days does not give the players nearly enough time to physically recover and it puts more pressure on them and the coaching staff to properly prepare for different scenarios and situations. Thursday games are generally poorer in quality as a result and the league should consider removing them altogether in order to protect the teams and their players.
While Gruden’s sentiments are widely shared among his peers, he and the Raiders have no choice but to focus on an important divisional matchup. The Chargers have underwhelmed this season due to several injuries and an overall lack of sharpness and execution, but they are still more than capable of playing complete games when they are dialed in, as was the case this past weekend when they beat a good Green Bay Packers team.
Los Angeles boasts a potent pass rush headlined by Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, meaning the Oakland offensive line will need to be at its best if they hope to slow it down and give Carr enough time in the pocket to get through his progressions. The offense has been clicking as of late and Carr’s improved play coupled with one of the best rushing attacks in the league should be more than enough to put up points.
Defensively, however, is what will determine the outcome of this game as the Chargers have backfield threats like Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler to go along with a talented receiving corps headlined by Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Hunter Henry. In what should be an exciting matchup, it will be interesting to see if the Silver and Black can keep their momentum going with a big division win.
