Raiders Open as 3-Point Favorites Against the Chargers on TNF of Week 15

• The Las Vegas Raiders will host the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night at 8:20pm ET
• The Raiders have lost three of their last four games, giving up 37.5 points per game in that span
• The Raiders won the first meeting between the teams 31-26 in Los Angeles – find out who we like below

The Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers will get the Week 15 party started on Thursday night when the Raiders host the Chargers at SoFi Stadium. The Raiders have opened as a field goal favorite, but which way will this betting line move throughout the week? Let’s take a closer look at the matchup.

Los Angeles Chargers vs Las Vegas Raiders Odds

All odds as of December 13 at FanDuel

Raiders Have Fallen On Hard Times

The Raiders were the talk of the town a month ago as they had won three straight and four of five, with one of those wins coming against the Kansas City Chiefs. Since then, the Raiders have mostly been a disaster, losing three of their last four games, with the lone victory being a last-second miracle over the winless New York Jets.

What’s concerning for the Raiders is they haven’t been competitive in each of their last two losses. They lost by 37 to the Atlanta Falcons and then after squeaking by the Jets, they lost by 17 to the Indianapolis Colts. The biggest issue these days is the defense, which is allowing 37.5 points per game over their last four.

HENRY RUGGS FOR THE GO-AHEAD TD!!!!#LVvsNYJ | CBS pic.twitter.com/82kLmV1e5a

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) December 6, 2020

With the Raiders, it’s clear that when everything goes absolutely right for them, they can compete with the best teams in the league. However, there is massive potential for downside: when they’re off, they’re a bad team.

Chargers Finally Win A Close Contest

Anthony Lynn’s Chargers have been known for two things: playing in close games and losing close games. They were 3-9 heading into Sunday’s game with the Atlanta Falcons with seven of their losses coming via one score. Sunday was another tight contest but they managed to pull it out with a last-second, game-winning field goal.

It was another sloppy, error-filled game by the Chargers, which is what we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from them. On their last drive of the first half, they were at the Falcons’ 12 with 30 seconds left but mismanaged the clock and didn’t even get a field goal attempt up. Los Angeles also had six penalties and a turnover.

that boy clutch 🙏@budlight | #ShowtimeCam pic.twitter.com/PmAyIaUNbv

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) December 14, 2020

What saved the day for the Chargers is Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw three interceptions, including two in the final 3:52 of the game. That eventually gave the Chargers an opportunity to kick a game-winning field goal to capitalize.

What’s The Best Bet?

The Chargers are just 4-9 and the Raiders are 7-6, but there isn’t really much between these teams. The Raiders are favored here and they definitely should be. They’re the better-coached team and they’re at home. At the same time, bettors will probably hesitate to lay points given how brutal their defense has been these days.

Being a Raider fan is like this… pic.twitter.com/JUdNOi78Q0

— ⭐️SOCAL~CHRIS⭐️ (@ChrisinCali) December 14, 2020

The Chargers almost always play close games and bettors will probably invest in them on Thursday thinking the same thing will happen. Look for them to get bet down slightly throughout the week and this line to close somewhere in the neighborhood of Raiders -2.5 or -2.