San Diego @ Oakland preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 22, 2013 ) Oakland 13, San Diego 26

A one-point loss in Week 1 serves as the only blemish for the surprising San Diego Chargers, who go for their fifth consecutive victory when they visit the winless Oakland Raiders on Sunday. San Diego rebounded from its opening setback by knocking off defending Super Bowl champion Seattle before ripping off three straight double-digit victories, including last week's 31-0 thrashing of the New York Jets. The Chargers have won four of the past five meetings, but lost at Oakland last season.

The Raiders are hitting the reset button after firing coach Dennis Allen and naming Tony Sparano the interim head coach prior to last week's bye. One of the first moves Sparano made was to dig a hole and bury a football, a symbolic message for his team to erase the memory of a disastrous 0-4 start. "What this ball represents and what this hole represents are the first four games of the season, the first quarter of our season," Sparano told his players. "Here's your shovel, here's your tool and those four games are over with. And we're about ready to go to work here. Everybody understand that?"

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Chargers -7. O/U: 43.5

ABOUT THE CHARGERS (4-1): Despite losing his top three running backs to injury, quarterback Philip Rivers is among the early front-runners for NFL MVP honors, completing an AFC-best 70.3 percent of his passes while throwing 12 touchdown passes against only two interceptions. Undrafted rookie running back Branden Oliver accounted for 182 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns a week ago while veteran tight end Antonio Gates has 21 receptions and a team-high five touchdowns. Keenan Allen has 25 catches while fellow wideout Eddie Royal has four TD receptions, but the biggest surprise is on the other side of the ball. San Diego yields a league-low 12.6 points and ranks third with 290.8 total yards per game.

ABOUT THE RAIDERS (0-4): Allen was dismissed after Oakland turned in a dismal effort in a Week 4 loss to Miami in London, surrendering 38 unanswered points to fall to 0-4 for the first time since 2006. Sparano, a former head coach of the Dolphins who carved out a reputation as an offensive innovator, needs to find a way to jump-start a dismal ground game that ranks dead last with an average of 61.5 yards. That's put more of an onus on rookie quarterback Derek Carr, who suffered knee and ankle injuries in his last game but said he expects to return to the lineup Sunday. Oakland's defense has accumulated only four sacks and has been gouged on the ground, ranking 31st in the league with an average of 158.3 rushing yards allowed.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Rivers can become the first QB in league history to post a passer rating of 120 or high in five consecutive games.

2. The Raiders have dropped 10 straight games dating to a 28-23 win at Houston on Nov. 17.

3. San Diego hasn't won five in a row since an 11-game winning streak in 2009.

PREDICTION: Chargers 23, Raiders 20