After the 34-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers last Thursday, it is hard to imagine that the Oakland Raiders have a lot of fight left on either side of the football.

The Thursday night game looked abysmal and to no surprise Oakland had zero good fantasy outings.

On Sunday, the Raiders will have to face the Los Angeles Chargers again. In the first game, the Chargers blew the Raiders out 26-10.

For a second straight week, it is going to be bleak for Oakland.

Must Start

QB Philip Rivers

No one knew who Nick Mullens was 24 hours before kickoff last Thursday. Now, football fans across America know this kid’s name.

It might be unsafe to think about what a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Philip Rivers will do to the depleted and lifeless Raider defense.

RB Melvin Gordon

In the first meeting against Oakland, Melvin Gordon tallied one touchdown and 120 yards from scrimmage.

Amazingly, that should be considered a monumental win for the Raiders defense as Gordon has gashed teams for 124 yards from scrimmage per game and 10 touchdowns in seven games.

So in the first meeting, Gordon put him numbers similar to his average.

When players go against the Oakland defense, they usually perform A LOT better than their average. Expect that to be the case this Sunday for Gordon.

WR Keenan Allen

Keenan Allen this season is averaging close to six receptions for 80 yards per game but has just one touchdown all year.

After racking up 152 yards from scrimmage against a much better Seattle defense last week, Allen is trending in the right direction. He will be able to put up big yards as he has done that all year.

And this would be the game for Allen to find the end zone since he is playing the same defense that had people drawing connections between Mullens and Joe Montana.

Proceed with Caution

QB Derek Carr

Derek Carr is never a smart man to bet against. And there is no doubt he will want to prove the doubters wrong after last week’s performance in Santa Clara.

But Carr just hasn’t had enough time to throw the football this season due to the many injuries up front and the inexperience at the tackle positions.

And Los Angeles, led by Melvin Ingram, has gotten to the quarterback 22 times in the first eight games.

If you ever lose sight of Carr during the game, just check the ground. That is where he will probably be after many passing plays.

The one saving grace for Carr, garbage time can be a great weapon for fantasy quarterbacks.

RB Jalen Richard

Based on what I said about Carr, I am not confident in the offense’s ability to consistently move the ball this game. However, that could be a benefit for Jalen Richard.

If the team is down big early, Richard will see many snaps and could see a lot of dump offs in the second half if the defense is giving a lot of cushion.

Bench

TE Jared Cook

Jared Cook hasn’t performed well lately. He has had 20 yards receiving or less in three of the last four games. One of those games was against the Chargers in which he had just 20 yards.

And again, if Carr isn’t going to be upright, it is tough to imagine Cook getting a ton of targets.

RB Doug Martin

In the first meeting, Oakland ran the ball 12 times for 36 yards.

The team is less motivated now than it was earlier in the season and is having more issues protecting the quarterback and throwing the football.

If the Raiders are one-dimensional (more like zero-dimensional) and struggling to pick up first downs, Doug Martin is not going to get enough carries to provide a solid fantasy day.

Raiders D/ST

I think every single player on the Chargers’ roster was in the must start category.