New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers Football Predictions & NFL Point Spreads
Written October 10, 2008 by Jimmy Boyd
The New England Patriots head west to take on the San Diego Chargers in a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship game on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. While the Patriots are without star QB Tom Brady and the Chargers are without star linebacker Shawne Merriman, there is still plenty of reason to watch in the wide open AFC. The Chargers are trying to get back to the .500 mark and the odds makers like their chances to get it done, inking them in as 5-point favorites.
The Patriots may be without All-Pro QB Tom Brady, but they still have to be feeling pretty good considering that a win gets them to 4-1 on the season. While Matt Cassel is no Tom Terrific, he has done a decent job of managing the offense and exploded for a 259-yard game against San Francisco last week. The Patriots will likely need another big game from him as the running game hasn’t done much thus far.
Cassel often hangs in the pocket too long and that has cost him the majority of 13 sacks through three starts, but the kid is tough and appears up for the challenge. He does have talented wideouts Randy Moss and Wes Welker to work with, and if the New England offensive line can give him time to throw, these guys will get open.
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Teams have really sat on the run against New England without Brady under center and that’s precisely what San Diego will do this week if Cassel doesn’t make them pay. If you think New England can hand the Chargers their fourth loss of the season, bet the Patriots at +5 at Bookmaker.
The Chargers were among the favorites of teams expected to reach the Super Bowl, but they have not looked Super Bowl worthy in the early going. A season-ending injury to star pass rusher Shawne Merriman has sucked the life out of the defense and a nagging turf toe ailment has kept LaDainian Tomlinson somewhat ineffective.
QB Phillip Rivers have been carrying the load in the meantime. The boy who idolized Brett Favre growing up has thrown for 1183 yards and 11 touchdowns against just four interceptions. With All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates also banged up, Rivers have found emerging star wide receiver Chris Chambers often. But Chambers will miss this week’s game with an ankle injury. That means that Gates is going to have to fight through his injury to come up big for the Chargers.
Tomlinson has not missed a game, but you know this former NFL MVP is not himself when he is averaging only 3.7 yards per carry and is held to 35 yards rushing, like he was against Miami last week.
The Chargers might be able to take advantage of a soft New England run defense if they can get their ground game going though. The Pats allowed the Dolphins to rush for 216 yards a few weeks back. If Tomlinson isn’t getting the job done, it will still be in San Diego’s best interest to go with a heavy dose of backup Darren Sproles, who is averaging five yards per carry.
While New England leads the all-time series by five games, they have struggled in San Diego. If you remember, the Patriots were crushed 41-17 in 2005 when visiting the Chargers. After losing in last year’s AFC title game, the Bolts will be no doubt be looking for paybacks. If you think San Diego can get its revenge and cover the spread in the process, bet the Chargers at -5 at Boomaker.
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