This week’s Thursday Night Football matchup features two teams that aren’t playing their traditional starters. Aidan O’Connell vs Easton Stick may not be an eye-opening matchup, but there’s still plenty to look forward to tonight, even with a large injury report. Two teams with nothing to play for could make for one of the more entertaining games of the year. The injury report is loaded, so pay close attention. As always, remember to set your fantasy lineup accordingly and bet responsibly.
Chargers @ Raiders Injury Report
Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert: Herbert will miss the rest of the season as he plans to undergo finger surgery. Any hope this season could be resurrected for LA is now gone. The inexperienced Easton Stick will likely start the remainder of the games. We’re unsure of what to make from Stick right now but expect bottom-tier quarterback play from LA for the rest of the season.
Keenan Allen: A heel injury will hold out LA’s best receiver. Allen would’ve been a great safety blanket for backup Easton Stick, especially since Stick has never started an NFL game. Thankfully for Stick, the Chargers are getting Josh Palmer back off injured reserve. He should have enough weapons to keep the game competitive. Expect the most amount of targets for Austin Ekeler, Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnston.
Deane Leonard: The Chargers will also be missing one of their top corners as he deals with ankle and heel ailments. Filling in for Leonard will be Michael Davis, who’s back in the starting lineup after getting benched a few weeks ago. Davis graded extremely well in his first week back, finishing with a 90.2 coverage grade. He’ll have a tough matchup against Jakobi Meyers this week. With Meyers getting around 4-5 targets a game, I’d expect him to finish with 50-60 yards.
Las Vegas Raiders
Josh Jacobs: While not officially ruled out, the Raiders’ star running back is listed as questionable due to a quad injury and did not practice all week. If he isn’t able to suit up, expect Zamir White to take the load of the carries. White hasn’t played much this year, but almost anyone could be effective against the Chargers’ rush defense. Also, look for Ameer Abdullah to get most of the third-down action.
Kolton Miller: Las Vegas will also be missing their best offensive lineman as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury. Jermaine Eluemunor performed well in his absence last week, finishing with a 74.7 blocking grade against a good Vikings defensive line. He’ll have a tougher task this week in protecting against Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu. Expect Eluemunor to give up 3-4 pressures and one sack tonight.
Andre James: An ankle injury will hold out the Raiders’ starting center. At times, James has looked like one of the better-starting centers in the league. This week it’ll be Jordan Meredith, who hasn’t played more than 14 snaps in one game. Expect slightly worse interior run blocking. Even with this, the Raiders rank top 10 in rush blocking so Josh Jacobs should still have an efficient day.
Analysis
Expect a pretty low-scoring game tonight although these are two below-average defenses. It’s hard to see both teams scoring more than 2-3 touchdowns when both feature backup quarterbacks. Still, there is plenty of value to be had here. One of my favorite plays for tonight is Jakobi Meyers, who’s facing off against a corner in Michael Davis who is just returning from being benched. On the other side, look for Austin Ekeler to rack up 7-8 catches tonight since he has an inexperienced quarterback in Easton Stick throwing to him.
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The Raiders could stay with Aidan O’Connell, the team’s fourth-round pick this year who began the season on the bench before becoming the starter five games ago. Or Las Vegas could turn back to Jimmy Garoppolo, the starter-turned-backup.