The San Diego Chargers sit at 5-4, but more importantly they sit at an inflection point in their season. Being a game behind the Kansas City Chiefs and two games behind the Denver Broncos, improving to 6-4 could be a catalyst to playoff contention. Declining to 5-5 would extinguish any hope of a turnaround.
The Chargers are definitely looking for a lift in the standings, and this is why God made the 2014 Oakland Raiders. Not only do the Chargers get a winless Raider team this week, the Chargers are playing the last team that supplied them with a win, at home.
All San Diego needs to do is move the chains. And this is done by going to the Chargers’ most targeted wideout, Keenan Allen. Although Allen has only one touchdown on the year, his importance has been in extending possessions, leading the Chargers with 47 grabs on 74 targets.
Philip Rivers can find Allen from any range and at any angle, so look for the targeting numbers to remain steady, if not increase. The Raiders are currently 18th against the pass in yards per game, so don’t expect Allen to get shut down. Instead, expect the Chargers to consistently drive down the field and find Allen on key third-down conversions, a category where San Diego ranks fourth in the NFL (48.4 percent).
Perceived by many as being in a sophomore slump, Allen is quietly turning in a stellar season. He’s been on the field each week and made a contribution. In fact, the last time he played a winless team at home (the Jacksonville Jaguars) he went off for 10 catches and 135 yards.
Expect him to do the same against Oakland. And look for Allen’s effort to rejuvenate the Chargers, getting San Diego talking about the playoffs again.
Jerry Landry is an ACC Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jerry2Landry, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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