By Associated Press. Tuesday, November 8, 2011

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Chargers have to move on quickly from their latest loss because the archrival Oakland Raiders are coming to town Thursday night.

It'll be quite the showdown, with the Chargers having lost three straight games and the Raiders having lost two. The teams are tied with Kansas City at 4-4 atop the AFC West, with Denver right behind at 3-5.

The Raiders swept the Chargers last year, which San Diego remembers all too well. In the first game, the Raiders benefited from a special teams meltdown. In the second, the Raiders manhandled the hosts on both sides of the ball and rushed for 251 yards.

"We haven't beat these guys since '09," Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. "We lost both of them last year and obviously that had a big impact on us not making the postseason. So it's a huge game for both teams."

The Oakland Raiders swept the division last year and still didn't make it to the playoffs. The Chargers were 3-3 and failed to win the division for the first time in five years.Now they're coming off three straight losses, including two road collapses and Sunday's 45-38 loss to Aaron Rodgers and undefeated Green Bay.

"Regardless of what happened thus far, good or bad, we can't change it," Rivers said. "We've got an eight-game season that starts Thursday night. There's three teams deadlocked in the division and Denver's spotting us all a game. They're right there in the thick of it. All four teams are alive. We've got eight to go. We'll see what happens."

The one constant during the Chargers' skid has been Rivers' turnovers. Their final shot at tying the Packers ended in the closing seconds when he threw his third interception, setting a career high. The first two were returned for touchdowns in the first quarter.

Rivers leads the NFL scores with 14 interceptions and 17 turnovers overall. He did match his career high with four TD passes against the Packers, three to Vincent Jackson. "We scored 38 points. That in itself is good," Rivers said. "Obviously, you can't turn the ball over. That was the difference in the game, turning it over. That's something I need to keep working on and do a better job of. We gave ourselves a chance and never quit. But there's no consolation when you lose."

Rivers and safety Eric Weddle said the Chargers need to do a better job of finishing games. The Chargers botched a two-minute drill in a loss at the New York Jets two weeks ago, then Rivers shockingly fumbled away a snap while the Chargers were driving in the final minute of regulation of a tie game at Kansas City, leading to an overtime loss.

"We started fast but we haven't finished and we've lost games," Weddle said. "That's the league. If you don't play well you're going to lose games. We just want to go out and play a complete game and win it and move on and get on to the next week."

Guard Kris Dielman (concussion) and outside linebacker Shaun Phillips (foot) are expected to miss their third straight games. Running back Ryan Mathews, who missed the Packers game with a groin injury, was limited in practice on Monday but is expected to play. The Chargers said they've sold enough tickets to lift the local television blackout.