It has been a weird season for primetime matchups, and Week 15 is no different. Thursday Night Football features Easton Stick and Aidan O’Connell, and Monday Night Football was going to feature Bailey Zappe and the Patriots before it was flexed out for the first time in NFL history (now that’s embarrassing!).
Back to Thursday night…. I have crafted a Chargers vs Raiders Same Game Parlay at FanDuel Sportsbook that pays out at nearly 30/1, so it’s well worth the read.
Check out our Los Angeles Chargers vs Las Vegas Raiders predictions
Austin Ekeler to score a touchdown (+170)
Davante Adams to score a touchdown (+190)
Under 34 (-110)
Same Game Parlay Odds: +2834
Austin Ekeler to score a touchdown (+170)
Let’s discuss the elephant in the room: Justin Herbert. The franchise quarterback is out for the season after breaking his finger in Week 14. That means Stick will take over Herbert’s duties, and Thursday Night Football will be just his 3rd time playing in an NFL game. Stick was drafted in 2019 and made 1 pass in 2020, but he then had a 3-year gap in his next appearance on the field, which happened on Sunday. Stick was 13-of-24 for 179 yards after taking over for Herbert and didn’t have the benefit of consistently handing the ball off to Austin Ekeler because the Chargers were already losing by a lot. However, Thursday night should be a different story.
L.A. head coach Brandon Staley will likely play it safe with the play calls for Stick. That means fewer deep throws and more checkdowns to Ekeler. Plus, Ekeler will likely get 15+ carries since he’s the primary back. Fortunately for Ekeler, he gets a favorable matchup against a Las Vegas defense that allows the 8th-most rushing yards per game. The Chargers will keep the ball on the ground a lot more with Stick under center, and Ekeler should benefit from that. If the Chargers are going to score, it will more than likely be from Ekeler.
Find out Prop Holliday’s best Chargers vs Raiders player prop bet for TNF
Davante Adams to score a touchdown (+190)
It’s been a roller-coaster of a season for Davante Adams. It was clear that Adams did not get along with former head coach Josh McDaniels, which was a contributing factor to his firing. But since then, Adams hasn’t been that much better. He has only scored 4 times this season, which would be his lowest touchdown total since 2015. However, Adams has a dream matchup on Thursday night. The Chargers’ secondary has arguably been the worst unit in football this season. Entering Week 15, Los Angeles is allowing the 4th-most passing yards per game. That number used to be much higher but got skewed from the Week 14 win over Bailey Zappe and the Patriots.
Last week, the Chargers allowed Denver’s Russell Wilson to throw for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wilson could have thrown for more yards, but the Broncos had a multi-touchdown lead and just ran it in the second half. In summary, the Chargers’ secondary is terrible. Adams should be able to take full advantage of this matchup and see plenty of targets from O’Connell, who is in dire need of a bounce-back performance following Week 14.
Our expert has their Chargers vs Raiders touchdown scorer picks, including one at HUGE +600 odds
Under 34 (-110)
This is the leg of the Same Game Parlay that shoots the payout through the roof. However, I’m not including this leg just because it makes the payout better; it also makes a lot of sense. The Chargers will be without Herbert for the first time this season and the Raiders were just shut out in their Week 14 matchup. It will be a quarterback matchup between Stick and O’Connell on Thursday Night Football which doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence to expect points. Stick is on a short week and has barely worked with these receivers as a starter and O’Connell looked terrible last week, so it’s hard for me to expect a solid performance from either young quarterback. I can see this game ending in the 17-10 range with a few touchdowns scored — but not enough to scare me away from taking the under.
Get everything you need to bet better on Chargers vs Raiders with our TNF betting guide
