4. Raiders defense will try to take advantage of beat-up Chargers. The Raiders have played pretty good defense under Pierce, holding four of their five opponents to 20 points or fewer. The Chiefs dropped 31 on them in
Week 12, but they've otherwise been stout in the five-game span. No shocker that
Maxx Crosby has been at the center of it. Despite injuring both knees in recent weeks and being questionable for Thursday, Crosby has played 97% of the Raiders' defensive snaps and has seven games in which he's played every snap, per NGS, and he's supplied 28.2% of the team's pressures. But first-rounder
Tyree Wilson has come on lately, with a sack and several pressures Sunday, and
Malcolm Koonce also has chipped in. They'll be facing a Chargers offensive line that entered the season as a perceived team strength but were dominated Sunday against the Broncos -- and on the whole, that unit has disappointed in 2023. Offensive tackles
Rashawn Slater and
Trey Pipkins by and large have held their own, with the interior struggling more, although both had their hands full in the first matchup. The Chargers can't seem to get running backs
Austin Ekeler and
Joshua Kelley going lately, and the pass game figures to be limited with Stick starting and wide receiver
Keenan Allen out with a heel injury, although
Joshua Palmer's return from IR should help.