Chargers-Raiders Rivalry Heats Up

When asked if he hates the Oakland Raiders, Brandon Flowers lets a sly grin slide across his face.

“I do,” he said.

Flowers should know. Even though it’s the cornerback’s first year with the Chargers, he spent the past six years in Kansas City with a Chiefs team that played the Raiders twice each year as a fellow member of the AFC West.

Now he gets to visit the Black Hole for the first time in a Chargers jersey, as the Bolts head up to Oakland for Sunday’s 1 p.m. game.

“I heard (the rivalry) is even a little bit more turned up here, so I’m looking forward to it,” said

Flowers, who is just 4-7 in games played against the silver and black. He does have 36 tackles and a pair of interceptions against the division rival, including a 58-yard return for a touchdown in 2011.

But he has nothing on Antonio Gates in terms of experience – or success – against the Raiders.

The Chargers tight end is 17-5 against Oakland. In 22 career games against the Raiders, Gates has caught 90 passes for 1,214 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was also part of a 13-game win streak over the Raiders from 2003-09.

“The Raiders-Chargers game has always been high energy and intensity. I don’t expect that to change this year,” he said. “We understand the magnitude of going into the Black Hole. It’s always been tough.”

Quarterback Philip Rivers has been along for most of that ride. He has a 12-4 record as a starter against Oakland, although he was on the sideline for four more wins before he took over as the starter in 2006.

“I know the players over there,” he said. “I think we all know the players over there. It’s a division game. You gotta go over there and play well.”

The teams have each won four of the last eight games. They split their series last year, which included a fluky Raiders win in Oakland that was moved to Sunday night to accomodate the A's game in the Major League Baseball playoffs.

Despite the fact that the Chargers are rolling at 4-1 this season while the Raiders are an ugly 0-4, just fired their coach and are starting a rookie quarterback, Rivers still expects a battle.

“We know we’re gonna get their best,” he said. “They’ve had a bye week. They’ve had a lot of things happen in the last week or so. It’s a prideful group. We gotta be ready to go.”

Running back Ronnie Brown, who rejoins the Chargers this week after spending two years with the team before joining the Houston Texans before the season, downplays the rivalry from the players’ standpoint.

“I think it’s a game that’s usually emphasized a lot by the fans,” he said. “But for the most part as a football team we try to take the mentality of it’s our next opportunity the next game of the season.”

His words were echoed by Chargers coach Mike McCoy. Never one to give in to emotion or deviate from his coach-speak persona, McCoy played it close to the vest when talking about the rivalry.

“Your goal is to win the division, but our goal is to win every game,” he said. “It’s one of 16 games. It has the same weight as every other game at this point in the year.”

Really coach? No added emphasis on this one? OK, maybe a little.

“It’s gonna be loud wherever you go on the road, regardless of what type of fans they have,” McCoy said. “They got a great tradition there, with the Black Hole and everything and great fan support. And when they come here they have great fan support.”

For what it’s worth, McCoy grew up in the Bay Area … revealing that he first rooted for the Cowboys and then for the 49ers.

“I was never a Raiders fan,” he said.

We’ll take it!

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