Rams and Raiders headline teams that face must-win games in Week 10

CHARLOTTE, NC - NOVEMBER 03: Carolina Panthers Running Back Christian McCaffrey (22) checks the big screen to see who's chasing him as he streaks towards the end zone during an NFL game between the Carolina Panthers and the Tennessee Titans on November 3, 2018 at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. (Photo by John McCreary/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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CARSON, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 03: Russell Okung #76 of the Los Angeles Chargers congratulates Melvin Gordon #25 of the Los Angeles Chargers after he scores a running touchdown during the second half of a game at Dignity Health Sports Park on November 03, 2019 in Carson, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

4. Los Angeles Chargers

That Thursday Night Football matchup is a sneaky good one this week as the other team in it, the Los Angeles Chargers, also find themselves in need of a win. The Chargers were left for dead two weeks ago after getting beaten by Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans, but Los Angeles has turned its season around with consecutive victories.

The Chicago Bears did the Chargers a favor by executing some head-scratching strategy at the end of their game, which led to a missed field goal that sealed a Los Angeles win. The Chargers built on that effort with a dominant showing at home against the Green Bay Packers, who had looked the NFC’s best team for several weeks.

The key to that performance was a strong showing from the Los Angeles defense, which smothered Aaron Rodgers and a Green Bay offense that had torn apart the Kansas City Chiefs a week earlier. Rodgers completed 23 of 35 passes for just 161 yards while getting sacked three times, and the Chargers held the Packers to 45 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Los Angeles will need that kind of defensive effort again if they want to pick up a road win on a short week against their division rivals, the Oakland Raiders. This is the first meeting of the year between the two teams, with the Raiders coming back to StubHub Center on Dec. 22.

The reason the Chargers are rated higher than the Raiders on this list is because they are below .500, and a loss would drop them to 4-6. A 9-7 team could still make the playoffs in the AFC, so the Chargers wouldn’t be done with a loss, but their road would get much more difficult since they still have a pair of games left with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

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