The NFL has been beset by more injuries than usual to starting quarterbacks this season, and a few teams have simply benched their ineffective starters, which has left football fans with some unsavory individual matchups under center. That appears to be the case Thursday night to kick off Week 15 as Easton Stick and the Los Angeles Chargers (5-8) visit rookie Aidan O'Connell and the Las Vegas Raiders (5-8). Both are technically alive for an AFC wild card spot, but neither team is truly postseason-quality. The Raiders are -3 on the SportsLine consensus with a minuscule total of 34.5.
Frankly, about all that is at stake here is the possibility of not finishing last in the AFC West. The Chargers sit 12th in the conference and any longshot playoff hopes they had vanished Sunday in a 24-7 home loss to Denver in which Justin Herbert fractured the index finger in his throwing hand. Herbert had surgery this week, and his disappointing season is over.
That means Herbert has all but surely played his last down for head coach Brandon Staley, who seems likely to be replaced after the season. Could Bill Belichick be in Los Angeles in 2024? Offshore book BetOnline lists Staley as the -150 favorite to be the next coach fired.
Stick was one of the great FCS quarterbacks of this century at North Dakota State, where he led the Bison to a pair of national titles and set the all-time career FCS wins record for a QB with 49. The FBS record is 50 by former Boise State star QB Kellen Moore, who is now the Chargers' offensive coordinator. Moore might get consideration for the full-time job, although that Los Angeless offense has stagnated for much of the season and will now be missing its top receiver as well Thursday.
Stick was 13-for-24 for 179 yards, no TDs or picks while being sacked two times in relief Sunday after Herbert's injury. The former NDSU star had previously thrown only one pass as a professional in 2020.
At least the Chargers know Herbert is their QB going forward. The Raiders, who are 13th in the conference, are in a bit of a quandary there as big-ticket free agent Jimmy Garoppolo was a bust and O'Connell has been mediocre at best as a fourth-round pick out of Purdue.
With Las Vegas on a three-game skid and totaling just 30 points in that stretch, including an embarrassing 3-0 home loss Sunday to Minnesota, reports are that interim head coach Antonio Pierce is close to making a change, so it's not out of the question O'Connell is pulled mid-game if he struggles. Will it be Garoppolo or veteran Brian Hoyer if that's the case? Pierce is probably coaching for the full-time job and is 2-3 since replacing the fired Josh McDaniels.
We'll take you through every aspect of the Chargers-Raiders game that you need to know before you lock in your bets, including SportsLine expert picks, props, trends, injury information and everything else that will help you know which plays are worth making for the primetime matchup.
Who wins Chargers vs. Raiders in the Week 15 Thursday night game, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine right now to see everything you need to know about the game in the Thursday night matchup to kick off Week 15 of the 2023 season!!
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