Click Here

Get a $500 Bonus on a $500 Deposit at BetUS!

Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers NFL Odds & Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

broncos-chargers-122608This week’s match up in San Diego between the Chargers and the Denver Broncos will decide the AFC West division, giving the winner a spot in the playoffs this year.  This is a fitting rematch to decide the division.  Remember back in week 2 at Denver when the Broncos defeated the Chargers on an incorrect call by referee Ed Hochuli?  As it turns out, the Chargers will have a chance for revenge or the Broncos will have a chance to prove they are the better team, either way it should be one of the most interesting games in the NFL this week.  The Chargers have been installed as 8 point favorites over the Broncos with the total set for 50.5 points.

It’s been a good season for Denver offensively, at least in total yardage per game, where the Broncos average 395 yards per contest, the 2nd-best total in the NFL, but they haven’t translated those yards into many points, scoring just 23.3 per game, only the 17th best average in the league.  It seems as though they’ve rediscovered their running game, which should help, but the Broncos will have to convert more touchdowns to get past San Diego this week.

Denver’s defense has been a mess this season ranking 28th in overall yards allowed (27th against the run and 27th against the pass) and ranking better than only 4 other NFL teams in points surrendered per game at 26.4.  The Broncos will need to plug up as many holes as they can for this week’s contest against the Chargers, who have scored an average of 32 points per game over the last 3 weeks.  The Broncos come into San Diego as 8 point underdogs.

San Diego’s offense has been solid this season, though the production isn’t coming from where you might expect.  With Ladanian Tomlinson in the backfield, you would think that the Chargers would be eating up large chunks of yardage in their running game, but San Diego averages just 96 rushing yards per game.  It’s the passing attack and Philip Rivers that have been providing the bulk of the Chargers’ offense.  On the season they are averaging 243 passing yards per game on an impressive 8 yards per attempt.  They’ve been able to turn those yards into point as well, averaging a hefty 25.8 points per contest.  The Chargers have really come on these past couple of weeks, particularly in the passing game.  Denver has struggled to stop teams all over the field, so expect big numbers out of the Chargers’ stars on Sunday.

The Chargers are missing key players on defense, most notably Shawne Merriman, and their performance shows it.  San Diego has been able to keep up reasonably well with their opponent’s running games, ranking 11th in rushing yards allowed, but they’ve dropped the ball in their secondary, which ranks second-to-last in passing yardage allowed.  Against a Denver team that likes to spread the ball around the field, this has to be a major concern for the Chargers coming into Sunday’s contest.  Bet on the Chargers -8 on Sunday.

The bottom line here is that the Chargers have most of the momentum coming into this contest.  The Broncos have plenty to play for, but they will need to make their adjustments work quickly if they want to avoid losing a playoff position that they’ve held for most of the season.  It’s been a quirky year in the AFC West, making this game the perfect way to crown the division champ.

This NFL betting season you can beat the NFL lines with top NFL football picks from our experts.  Start today with an NFL picks package, we know you’ll be happy with the results!

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

Written by Steve Janus on December 26, 2008 · Filed Under NFL Betting Articles, News & Previews 

Comments

2 Responses to “Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers NFL Odds & Predictions”

  1. BROTHER on December 26th, 2008 5:44 PM

    HOPE THE NFL OFFICIALS COME TO THE GAME WITHOUT BIAS. WATCHING
    THE NFL GAMES THIS YEAR, IT ALMOST SEEMED AS THOUGH THE REFEREES (OFFICIALS) MAKE SOME CALLS …IE (THIRD DOWN CALLS) THAT IMPACT THE OUTCOME OF THE GAME. AS SOME OF THE CALLS ARE REVIEWED ON TV, IT WOULD APPEAR THAT SOME PRETTY “TICKY TACKY” CALLS APPEAR AT CRITICAL TIMES. CALLS THAT HAVEN’T BEEN CALLED THROUGHOUT THE GAME. AS WE ALL KNOW, PREDETERMINED MENTAL BIAS INFLUENCES THE DECISION MAKING THROUGHOUT THE GAME AND ESPECIALLY AT CRITICAL TIMES OF THE GAME.

  2. Jack Jones on December 29th, 2008 2:53 PM

    Unfortunately I don’t think the officials played much of a roll in this one. Really a disappointing game to end the season on from a spectator’s perspective.

Got something to say?