The NFL is back for Week 15 of the 2023 season as the Los Angeles Chargers travel to take on the Las Vegas Raiders at the Allegiant Stadium on Thursday night.
The Chargers are currently 5-8 for the season after their defeat at the weekend made it four defeats in their last five, while the Raiders are also 5-8 so far this season having lost each of their last three games.
We'll take a look at the match-up and provide you with our best free NFL betting picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you enjoy the action on the field.
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Los Angeles Chargers vs Las Vegas Raiders information
- Thursday, 14th December 2023
- Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
- 20:15 ET kick-off
Season so far
The Chargers have had a really mixed start to their season, and currently have a losing record after some recent poor form.
They opened their season with a close-fought 36-34 defeat to the Miami Dolphins in week 1 while week 2 wasn’t any better for them as they went up against the Tennessee Titans and fell to a 27-24 overtime defeat.
Week 3 was more successful thanks to a 28-24 win over the Minnesota Vikings, where a first-quarter shutout helped them to victory as they scored a touchdown in all four quarters, before week 4 saw them beat the Las Vegas Raiders 24-17 thanks to a dominant first-half which meant their scoreless second half didn’t matter ahead of a bye in week 5.
Week 6 saw them go up against the Dallas Cowboys and suffered another close loss 17-20, with Dallas scoring 10 points in the final quarter to claim the win, before a beating from reigning champions Kansas City Chiefs in a 17-31 game in week 7. They earned back-to-back wins next over the Chicago Bears and New York Jets, but have since lost four of their last five games.
Detroit Lions beat them 41-38 in a highly entertaining game in week 10, before another close 23-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers was followed up with a 20-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. They got back to winning ways with a 6-0 win over New England Patriots, but fell to defeat last time out against the Denver Broncos 24-7.
The Raiders on the other hand have had a tough time of things themselves, failing to get any sort of momentum going over the course of the season.
A 17-16 win over the Broncos opened the season before they lose their next three on the spin. The Buffalo Bills thumped them 38-10 in week 2, before the Pittsburgh Steelers earned a 23-18 win and then the Chargers beat them in week 3.
They responded to that with back-to-back wins over the Green Bay Packers 17-13 and then the New England Patriots 21-17, only to then lose two on the spin again against the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions in their next two games. They found a way to win in their next two games at home though, comfortably beating the New York Giants 30-6 and New York Jets 16-12, but since then it's all gone downhill.
The Miami Dolphins earned a 20-13 win in week 11, before Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs dominated them and earned a 31-17 win in week 12. Week 13 saw them have a chance to recharge and reset with a bye, but they returned to action against the Minnesota Vikings in week 14 and were beaten in arguably the worst NFL game in history via a 3-0 scoreline.
NFL Picks: Las Vegas Raiders moneyline @ -160
Joshua Jacobs has put up 805 rushing yards (ranked 5th in the entire NFL) with six touchdowns (61.9 yards per game through 13 games). His 3.5 yards per attempt rank 40th in the league. Link that with the fact he's hauled in 37 passes (on 54 targets) for 296 receiving yards with zero touchdowns. He's averaging 22.8 receiving yards and 2.8 catches per game, and you have the reason why the Raiders are favorites.
When it comes to the passing game, Jakobi Meyers, has racked up 616 receiving yards and six touchdowns after catching 57 balls on 82 targets. Per game, he's averaging 51.3 yards and 4.8 receptions in 12 games, while Jimmy Garoppolo has 1,205 passing yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions this year. He has completed 65.5% of his attempts, averaging 200.8 yards per game and 7.2 per attempt.
Neither team are in good form, but with home advantage backing them to get the victory on the moneyline seems like the best play.
Check out our review for Bovada sports betting here.
NFL Picks: Over 33.5 total points @ -110
So far this season the Chargers have averaged 21.69 totals points scored per game across their 13 games, while defensively they have allowed an average of 21.69 points per game also. That's a pretty impressive stat considering their record of 5-8, as it shows getting points on the board hasn't been an issue whatsoever.
Alternatively the Raiders have averaged 31.07 points scored per game this season across their 13 games, while defensively they have allowed an average of 19.92 points per game. In addition, Las Vegas have seen the total of 34+ points surpassed in eight of their 13 games, while the Chargers have seen it surpassed in nine of their 13 games.
Their game earlier this season saw 41 points scored, and neither team have improved since then, so expect this bet to land.
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