The 6-9 Oakland Raiders will travel to Los Angeles to take on the 8-7 Rams in this week 17 Sunday afternoon matchup. These teams have been headed in different directions and last week was no different. Oakland lost its 3rd game in a row last week with a 19-10 road defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles. The loss eliminated the Raiders from playoff contention. Los Angeles defeated the New York Jets on the road 14-7. The Rams started the season with 4 consecutive losses, but have since won 8 of their past 11 games to keep their playoff dreams alive. Even with a win, Los Angeles will need help from several teams in order to clinch a playoff spot.
The Raiders offense was downright awful last week as they scored just 10 points and turned the ball over 5 times. It started with Derek Carr who finished with a quarterback rating of 2 as he completed 15 of 29 passes for 140 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. His favorite target was Amari Cooper who had 3 catches for 66 yards and the team’s lone touchdown. They had success running the ball gaining 137 yards. Marshawn Lynch led the team with 95 yards on 25 carries. For the year, the Raiders offense has averaged 19.4 points and 331 yards per game. Defensively, they played great limiting the high powered Eagles offense to just 241 yards. They Intercepted Nick Foles once and recovered a fumble. They also had 2 sacks and 4 tackles for losses.
The Rams defense led the way last week against the Jets. They forced 3 turnovers with 2 fumble recoveries and 1 interception of Bryce Petty. They had 6 tackles for losses and were able to sack Petty three times for a loss of 21 yards. They struggled against the run however as the Jets gained 197 yards on 30 carries which is an average of 6.6 yards per run. For the season, the Chargers defense has allowed their opponents to score an average of 17.5 points and gain 344.5 yards per game. Offensively, Philip Rivers played well enough to get the win. He finished with a quarterback rating of 64 as he completed 22 of 40 passes for 290 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions. His favorite target was Antonio Gates who had 6 catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. He missed Thursdays practice with an illness but should be fine for the game on Sunday. They averaged 3 yards per carry as they gained 89 yards on 30 carries.
Los Angeles will have home field advantage and are favored by 7.5 points in this game. They have gone 9-6 against the spread this season including 4-3 at home. The Raiders 5-8-2 against the spread this season including 2-4-1 on the road. Raiders receive Amari Cooper has missed 2 of the last 3 games with a foot injury and he was limited in practice this week. His status for this game is still up in the air.
