Week Two Showdown with the San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos
The San Diego Chargers (0-1 SU & ATS), beaten on a last-second touchdown in their opener at home, will look to bounce back on Sunday when they visit the Mile High City to play the Denver Broncos (1-0 SU & ATS), who got a breather in their opening game, in this AFC West matchup that is scheduled for 4:15 PM ET kickoff at Invesco Field in Denver.
Sunday, September 14
BetUS NFL betting odds: SAN DIEGO -2, Total 44.5
NOTABLE STAT: Jay Cutler had 12.5 yards per pass attempt in the opener
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: Denver is 7-18 ATS in its last 25 games
In the BetUS NFL football betting odds, the Chargers are listed as a two-point road favorite, with a posted total of 44.5 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SD has covered nine of its last ten games
* SD has won eight of its last ten games SU
* SD has covered its last five road games
* SD has won four of its last five road games SU
* SD has played 11 of its last 16 road games OVER the total
* DEN has covered seven of its last 25 games
* DEN has played 16 of its last 22 games OVER the total
* DEN has won and covered four of its last five home games
* DEN has lost 10 of its last 14 home games SU
* DEN has played 10 of its last 13 home games OVER the total
Also…
* SD has won and covered four of the last five meetings
* DEN is 10-5-3 ATS in the last 18 meetings as the home team
* DEN has won 17 of the last 21 meetings SU as the home team
Denver did a genuine beat-down of the Oakland Raiders on Monday night, racking up 24 first downs and 441 yards of total offense in the process. Jay Cutler was incredibly efficient, completing 16 of 24 passes fore 299 yards and two touchdowns, without an interception. And Cutler found a big-time target, it seems, in Eddie Royal, who caught nine passes for 146 yards in his first NFL game. The Broncos’ 41-14 win was not as close as the score indicated, as Oakland tallied both of its TD’s in “garbage” time in the final quarter. It should be noted as well that Mike Shanahan, who always enjoys rubbing it in Al Davis’ face when he has the upper hand, kept punching the ball forward, even with a commanding fourth-quarter lead.
San Diego’s defense failed in the final minutes as the Carolina Panthers rallied for a 26-24 win. And there was that big, critical turnover as Antonio Gates fumbled after a catch and Chris Gamble picked it up and scampered 31 yards for a TD. Jake Delhomme, coming back from major elbow surgery, led the dramatic final TD drive for the Panthers, but what was maybe lost in the shuffle was that Phillip Rivers, who was playing his first regular season game after knee surgery, reached a level of effectiveness that had to please the San Diego coaching staff, as he went 17 for 27 and three TD’s, without a pickoff.
In its runaway win over Oakland, Denver took the Raiders’ running game out of action as a big factor. But Oakland ran it well against a defense that was the worst in the NFL against opposing ground attacks, gaining 4.8 yards per carry. That will be more of a concern against LaDanian Tomlinson (97 yards in 21 carries against Carolina). And RIvers threw a 44-yard TD pass to Chris Chambers, who wasn’t even with the team at the start of last season.
Chambers adds balance to a passing attack that had been overly dependent upon Gates, who is nursing a sore toe.
On the other side of the coin, San Diego got to Delhomme only once, and Shawne Merriman had only a couple of tackles and is still very sore in his knee. Brandon Marshall, who had over 100 catches for Denver last season, is returning after a one-game suspension.
I expect sound running games and efficient passing from both quarterbacks. And at the same time, I acknowledge that both these teams have trended over the total in these situations. The number is reasonable, and so we will bypass Denver as the home dog and go after the total, grabbing the OVER at 44.5 points as it is posted in the BetUS NFL football betting odds.
JAY’S PLAY: OVER 44.5 ***
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