Ryan Mathews Injury: Chargers RB fully expected to play in Week 11

San Diego Chargers feature back Ryan Mathews has been out since Week 2 with an MCL sprain, and his return to the starting lineup would definitely be welcome for a Chargers team that has surprisingly slid lately. Once widely ranked as one of the top five teams in the NFL, the Chargers are 5-4 and clearly outside of the top ten, with Sunday’s 37-0 blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins being a depressing low point for Mike McCoy’s squad. This team has enough talent to get buy, though plenty hinges on the play of the secondary going forward, especially with Jason Verrett’s injury in mind.

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The U-T San Diego’s Michael Gehlken reports that Ryan Mathews is practicing today, even though many of his teammates, including quarterback Philip Rivers, are getting veteran days off. Mathews is busy working into playing shape for the team’s Week 11 tilt against the rival Oakland Raiders. Even though the Raiders are winless, they did give the Chargers a bit of a scare earlier this year, and they always play their most hated rivals tough.

After a torrid start, rookie Branden Oliver has cooled of late, and he fits better as a change-of-pace back behind Mathews, whose consistent rushing will greatly help Rivers and the passing attack, which needs to be reignited a bit.

Mathews was averaging an ineffective 3.1 yards per carry before the injury, but that was a small sample. He won’t be able to match last season’s excellent form immediately, but hopefully he’ll get to that point in a couple of weeks.