Expert tips overwhelmingly favor the Chargers in the season opener against the Raiders

The folks at NFLpickwatch collected game tips from around 285 different experts and the result was pretty one-sided.

They predict with almost 80% probability that the Chargers will beat the Raiders.

As far as the spread goes, the Chargers are ahead by three points, so if you trust the experts’ picks, that’s probably a good bet. Not that I’m suggesting that, because that’s not something I would do.

A quick overview is enough to understand why the experts prefer the Chargers. They have an elite QB and have arguably the best new head coach of the offseason in Jim Harbaugh, who just led the Michigan Wolverines to the national championship.

The Raiders have a quarterback with migrant experience and promoted interim coach Antonio Pierce, who has never held a position above linebackers coach in the NFL. That’s not an attack on him – at least not from me – it’s just a fact and it probably influences these predictions.

This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Expert tips overwhelmingly favor the Chargers in the season opener against the Raiders