NFL 2015 Week 16 Thursday Game Preview: Chargers at Raiders

While the NFL debates on whether the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers should be relocated to Los Angeles next season, in the meantime, both rival franchises still have a game to play against each other, as Week 16 begins on Thursday night on NFL Network (8:25 PM ET) with the Raiders (6-8) hosting the Chargers (4-10) at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland.

San Diego enters Week 16 aiming for its second consecutive win following a 30-14 victory over Miami.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers completed 26 of 36 passes (72.2 percent) last week for 311 yards with three touchdowns for a 102.9 passer rating. Rivers, who is second in the league with 4,287 passing yards, eclipsed 4,000 for the seventh time in his career, the fourth-most such seasons in NFL history.

San Diego running back Danny Woodhead scored four total touchdowns (three receiving, one rushing) against the Dolphins, making him the first Charger since LaDainian Tomlinson (2007) to score four touchdowns in a game. Woodhead leads all running backs this season with 651 receiving yards, and is third with 64 receptions.

“This was a great team win, a great team effort,” said Chargers head coach Mike McCoy. “We have to give the leadership on this football team a lot of credit. Our team keeps grinding and I am happy about the win.”

Rivers has compiled a 4-2 record on Thursday, including three wins against AFC West opponents. For his career, Rivers is 14-5 as a starter against Oakland, and is 14 games over .500 (36-22) when starting against the AFC West. Since 2006, Rivers has the most passing yards (14,198) and third-most touchdowns (89) of any player in the AFC against his own division.

Oakland aims to rebound following a 30-20 loss to Green Bay.

“We understand that we were not good enough to beat the Packers this week,” said Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio. “We have a short week. We need to do everything we can to get prepared on a short week with a game on Thursday night.”

Oakland quarterback Derek Carr passed for 276 yards and two touchdowns, the 11th time in the past 13 games that he has thrown two or more touchdowns. Carr has 30 touchdown passes this season, joining Daryle Lamonica as the only Raiders quarterbacks with 30 in a single season.

One player Carr will have to keep an eye on this Thursday is San Diego linebacker Melvin Ingram, who was superb last week, producing six tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass defensed.

Raiders rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper had six receptions for 120 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers. Cooper (1,040) eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, making him the first Raiders rookie ever and the first Oakland player since Randy Moss (1,005) in 2005 to reach the mark.

“He’s the ultimate team guy,” said Carr about Cooper. “Anytime you can do that in this league against the defensive backs of today, that is no small feat. That means you are a really good wide receiver, one of the best in the world.”

On defense, cornerback David Amerson recorded six tackles and an interception against the Packers. Amerson now leads the league with 24 passes defensed.

Defensive end Khalil Mack recorded a sack last week, his fourth consecutive game with a sack. Mack, who has four multiple-sack games this season, leads the league with 15 sacks. He needs 1.5 sacks to eclipse the club record of 16 by Derrick Burgess in 2005.

WEEK 16 INJURY REPORT – CHARGERS at RAIDERS

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

OUT
T King Dunlap (ankle), LB Kyle Emanuel (concussion), DT Sean Lissemore (shoulder)
 
QUESTIONABLE
TE Ladarius Green (ankle), WR Steve Johnson (groin)

PROBABLE
T Chris Hairston (abdomen), CB Steve Williams (hip)


OAKLAND RAIDERS

OUT
S Nate Allen (knee), DE Mario Edwards (neck)

QUESTIONABLE
CB Neiko Thorpe (neck)

PROBABLE
WR Amari Cooper (foot), DE Khalil Mack (knee), WR Seth Roberts (abdomen), S Charles Woodson (shoulder)

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services