ALAMEDA – Raiders running back Latavius Murray isn’t 100-percent healthy. No NFL player is these days, but the bye week did him good.

Rest and relaxation helped third-year pro’s ailing shoulder. Down time put him in position to practice fully and play the San Diego Chargers on Sunday without hindrance.

That a positive development for a Raiders running game trying to get right.

“We want to establish the run every week,” Murray said. “I think that’s the most important thing regardless of who we’re facing. We know we need to run the ball to be successful.”

Sunday might offer a good opportunity to run well. The Chargers allow 132.5 rushing yards per game, as the NFL’s 29th-ranked run defense. The last time Murray face that caliber of run defense, he rattled off 139 rushing yards against the Cleveland Browns.

“There may be a misfire here or there that doesn’t make San Diego’s run numbers look so good, but it’s a good defense,” Chargers head coach Jack Del Rio said. “They’re very good on 3rd down getting off the field. That’s an area where we need to make sure we’re staying ahead of the chains and not getting ourselves in 3rd-and-forever.”

When quarterback Derek Carr looked back at recent tape, efficiency was his biggest offensive concern. That comes from unsuccessful early runs and short passes that keep the Raiders on schedule. Production is high when Murray is running well and running often, when the play-action passing game is working well. The Raiders’ only touchdown drive against Denver came when the run game was steady. The offense has faltered when it hasn’t worked, especially when Murray was turning the ball over in Week 4 against Chicago.

Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave prefers to run well and run often, and takes pride in an efficient ground attack. That’s why he made rushing a priority during the bye.

Sunday will be the team’s first opportunity to experiment with changes made to the running game, which wasn’t operating up to Raiders standards early this season. It was a bye-week focus, something that needed to improve for the offense to be productive.

“We definitely looked at some things that we want to do, and we identified some thing we must continue to do well,” Murray said. “I’m excited to get back to work and get this running game going. … When you look our past games on film, we’re close to a big run or a touchdown here and there. The week was about cleaning up the little things and paying attention to details. If we do that, those big runs can come.”