BSNblog

It is time to take the Oakland Raiders seriously. In week 13 of the 2010 season, the Raiders did something that no other team has done in years; they beat the San Diego Chargers in December. The Raiders defense had the Chargers number one ranked offense frustrated. The Raiders offense completely fooled the Chargers number one ranked defense. It was a well-played, and well-coached, game by the Raiders and now the Raiders are looking at catching up to the AFC West leading Kansas City Chiefs.

The Jacksonville Jaguars also require serious thought. The NFL predictions for the Jaguars by the NFL betting community had this being head coach Jack Del Rio’s last season. But, through some hard work and some unbelievable luck, the Jaguars are 7-5 and leading the AFC South. From the smallest, but yet one of the most prolific, running backs in the league to Hail Mary plays to win big games; the Jaguars are showing that they want to stick around and have a say in the AFC playoff race.

Offense:

Many of the most memorable NFL scores this season have been compliments of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Quarterback David Garrard is not tearing up the league, but he is a consistent force in the Jacksonville offense that helps the team win games. Garrard has 1,982 passing yards and 17 touchdowns this season. That is a respectable season to this point, but it does not show exactly how valuable Garrard is to the offense. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew continues to be the glue that holds the Jaguars together. He has 1,177 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He is a surprisingly powerful runner that is pushing defensive lines backwards in every game.

The Oakland Raiders want desperately for Bruce Gradkowski to be their starting quarterback. But Jason Campbell is becoming so good at managing games that Gradkowski may have to sit. Campbell only threw for 117 yards and a touchdown against the Chargers. But he ran for a touchdown and helped spread out the Chargers defense to make the Raiders offense more potent. It looks like Campbell will be the quarterback to take the Raiders to the playoffs, and that makes the Raiders offense very dangerous.

Defense:

The thing that killed the Chargers was the Raiders’ ninth ranked pass defense. Once Philip Rivers was out of sync, the whole Chargers offense went south. The Raiders have problems containing the run, but they are tough at the line of scrimmage. The Oakland defense can get into the opposing backfield and cause all kinds of problems. For a team as organized as the Jaguars, a persistent Oakland pass rush could be a problem.

The Jaguars defense has been living off the heroics of the Jacksonville offense. The Jags allow 25 points per game, and that is not going to help them shut down an offense like the Raiders. Jacksonville has been playing consistently against the run this season, but with a mobile quarterback like Campbell back there, that will change things considerably.

The Bottom Line:

The Raiders and the Jaguars are flying high as both are coming off week 13 divisional wins. This will be a good game, but the Raiders just have too many offensive weapons for the Jaguars to handle.

BSN Sports Pick: Oakland Raiders