Los Angeles at Las Vegas

Sometimes injuries are the difference maker in going from a very good team to plain ordinary. Other times, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference. The San Diego chargers have lost Ryan Mathews, Danny Woodhead and Donald Brown, but it actually may turn out to be a positive for an already good team that is off to a 4-1 start. Brenden Oliver went for 114 yards on 19 carries vs. a good Jets' stop-unit last week, and he should certainly find more space vs. Oakland. Besides, the Chargers offense runs through Phillip Rivers who I personally have rated as the #3 QB in the league this season. San Diego has been under the radar with the way they have played defense. In their last 12 games, no team has scored more than 24 points against them and that includes two games each vs. Cincinnati and Denver, and one against Seattle. This year no one has gotten past 21, and Oakland has one of the weakest offenses in the league. It's completely inept. These teams are miles apart on both sides of the ball, and the Chargers are playing with a chip on their shoulder and they are now 9-2 straight-up in their last 11 games going back to last year, and 10-1 ATS over the same period. Bad teams seldom benefit from a bye week and Oakland has been no exception as they are 2-9 ATS when following a bye. And, new Oakland head coach Tony Sparano is just 10-22 ATS in his head coaching career in home games. Lay the points on San Diego.