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Chargers-Raiders Preview

Oct 8, 2010 - 9:55 PM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

The San Diego Chargers are trying to build on their most lopsided victory of the season. They've made a habit out of completely dominating the AFC West-rival Oakland Raiders for nearly seven years.

The Chargers look to tie the longest active win streak in a series with a 14th consecutive victory over the Raiders on Sunday.

San Diego (2-2) held Arizona to 124 yards of offense, collected a season-high nine sacks and forced three turnovers en route to a 41-10 win last week. The dominant performance came after the Chargers fell 27-20 at Seattle a week earlier, giving up two kick returns for touchdowns while committing five turnovers and 11 penalties.

Both of San Diego's losses have come on the road. Facing the Raiders (1-3), though, could put the Chargers in position for their first away victory of 2010.

San Diego has won 13 in a row over Oakland by an average of 14.4 points, dating to a 34-31 overtime loss in September 2003. The Raiders scored two late touchdowns before Sebastian Janikowski won it with a 46-yard field goal.

The Chargers' run, which includes six wins at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, is one shy of the longest active streak in the NFL. New England has won 14 straight over Buffalo.

San Diego enters this matchup averaging a league-high 450.8 yards - 35.5 more than the next-best club. The team is also third with 28.2 points per game.

"We have so many guys on our team who touch the ball, you really have to pick your poison," said running back Mike Tolbert, who had a career-high 100 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries last week.

Tolbert may see limited action with Ryan Mathews healthy. The first-round pick and heir apparent to LaDainian Tomlinson had 55 yards, including a 15-yard TD on nine rushes against the Cardinals after sitting out against the Seahawks with a right ankle injury.

Philip Rivers ranks among the league leaders with 1,328 passing yards, nine touchdowns, a 102.8 rating and 15 completions of 25 yards or more. He connected with Antonio Gates for scoring passes of 33 and 26 yards against the Cardinals.

Gates tops the NFL with six of San Diego's 14 touchdowns. However, the tight end has found the end zone once in the last six meetings with the Raiders.

While the offense is impressive, the defense ranks second in the NFL despite Shawne Merriman missing two games with a calf injury.

Though Merriman's status is uncertain, fellow linebacker Shaun Phillips may continue sparking the unit after being named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Phillips had a career-high four sacks and a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown last week. Earlier this week, he also lifted his ban on talking to the media, which stemmed from a 15-yard penalty for head-butting an opponent in last season's playoff loss to the New York Jets.

"I'm going to continue to stay out of the limelight as much as possible and let them have all the glory," said Phillips, who has 11 1/2 sacks in eight games against Oakland.

Phillips and the Chargers' defense may be in for a much tougher task than usual against the Raiders. Oakland's offense is showing improvement, totaling 47 points in two games since Bruce Gradkowski replaced Jason Campbell at quarterback.

Running back Darren McFadden, though, has been ruled out of Sunday's game with a right hamstring injury. He is tied for third in the NFL with 392 yards rushing.

Michael Bush, off to a slow start after missing the first two games with a broken left thumb, will replace McFadden.

The Raiders are fifth in the AFC, averaging 354.2 yards of total offense after finishing 31st in the league last year with 266.1.

"It's a totally different feel from last year and this year," wide receiver Louis Murphy said. "A lot of veterans on this team are fed up with losing and really want to win. It's a different feeling. It's a good vibe going around here. We just haven't pulled out the close ones, but the good thing is it's early in the season."

The Raiders came up short again last week, losing 31-24 to Houston as their defense was overwhelmed for 249 rushing yards.

"We are not panicking," safety Tyvon Branch said. "We are very optimistic still. It's still early, we're still working out the kinks. Once we get everything going, we still have so much potential that we can just go on a run. That's what this league is about, going on runs."