Packers Chargers Line

Written by Steve Janus - Google +

The San Diego Chargers will host the Green Bay Packer in a big time showdown between two division leaders. The Chargers will look to rebound from a devastating loss at Kansas City on Monday Night Football. San Diego was simply running down the clock to kick a game winning field goal, but fumbled the snap and wound up losing 20-23 in overtime. The loss dropped San Diego into a 3-way tie for 1st place in the AFC West. The Packers return from their bye week with a perfect 7-0 record and comfortable 2-game lead in the NFC North. If you include the playoffs, Green Bay has won 13 straight with their last loss coming back in week 15 of last season.

Taking a look at the week 9 spreads, oddsmakers currently have the Packers favored by 5.5-points over the Chargers with the total set at 50.5 points.

Green Bay Packers:

The Packers have made pretty easy work of their opponents so far this season, and people are starting to talk about this team possibly finishing the season undefeated. The bye week has been hit or miss for teams this season, as the new labor agreement doesn’t allow teams to put in as much practice as they would in the past.

It’s hard to imagine anything slowing down the Green Bay offense. Aaron Rodgers is the front-runner to win the MVP this season. Rodgers not only leads the best team in football, but he is tops in the NFL in completion percentage (71.5%), touchdowns (20), and passer rating (125.7). What makes him so difficult to stop is he doesn’t just throw the ball to one or two receivers, he throws it to whoever is open. That has led to just three interceptions in seven games.

The Packers are so good at throwing the football that they are winning by averaging just 99.9 ypg on the ground (24th). Only five of their 32 offensive touchdowns have been a result of a running play, and two of those have came from Rodgers.

This will be one of the tougher defenses the Packers have faced this season. San Diego has the 4th best pass defense in the NFL, allowing just 185.9 ypg. However, the Chargers allowed Tom Brady to go 31 of 40 for 423 yards and three touchdowns earlier this season.

San Diego Chargers:

The big question coming into this game is can San Diego bounce back from that horrible loss in Kansas City. That kind of loss can eat at a team and really ruin a season, but a win this week over the defending champs and that loss won’t seem near as bad.

That botched snap is just one of many mistakes Philip Rivers has made this season, and things aren’t going to get any better until he starts taking care of the football. Rivers torched the Chiefs secondary for 369 yards, but threw two more interceptions. He now leads the league with 11 interceptions and is also the leader with 16 total turnovers.

While the turnovers have really hurt this team, their inability to finish drives with touchdowns has been a big problem in 2011. San Diego moved the ball into the red zone nine times against the Chiefs, but managed to come away with just four field goals and one touchdown.

San Diego may be forced to throw the ball more than normal this week. While Mike Tolbert is expected to return after missing last week’s game with a hamstring injury, Ryan Mathews and Curtis Brinkley are both listed as questionable. Luckily for the Chargers, Green Bay’s biggest weakness defensively has been stopping the pass. The Packers are 31st in the NFL, giving up 288.9 ypg.