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Week 6 Patriots vs. Chargers NFL Predictions

Two teams possibly going in different directions meet this week in San Diego California as the New England Patriots visit the San Diego Chargers. We preview and pick this game

NFL Football Betting – New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers

The two teams who faced each other in the AFC championship game a year ago will lock horns on Sunday, although it’s looking less and less like a preview of a rematch for that AFC title. The New England Patriots (3-1 SU, 2-2 ATS) travel to San Diego to face the Chargers (2-3 SU, 2-2-1 ATS) in this contest that is scheduled to kick off at 8:15 PM ET at Qualcomm Stadium (natural turf).

Sunday, October 12
BetUS NFL betting odds: SAN DIEGO -5.5, Total 44.5

NOTABLE STAT: San Diego has scored one point for every 11 yards gained on offense
KEY NFL FOOTBALL BETTING TREND: Patriots have won ten straight road games

In the BetUS NFL football betting odds, the Chargers are listed as a 5.5-point 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):

* NE has covered two of its last ten games
* NE has won 21 of its last 23 games SU
* NE has played eight of its last 11 games UNDER the total
* NE has covered 15 of its last 20 road games
* NE has won its last ten road games SU
* NE has played four of its last five road games OVER the total
* SD is 11-2-1 ATS in its last 14 games
* SD has won 10 of its last 14 games SU
* SD has lost four of its last six games SU
* SD has played four of its last five games OVER the total
* SD has won and covered eight of its last nine home games
* SD has played four of its last six home games OVER the total

Also…

* NE has covered six of the last nine meetings
* NE has won eight of the last ten meetings SU
* Six of the last nine meetings have gone OVER the total

Here’s a matchup that was probably made much more interesting after Tom Brady went down with injury, because the Chargers lost twice to the Pats last year – once in rather humiliating fashion at Qualcomm (38-14) before San Diego really got rolling, and then of course, in the AFC title game, when Phillip Rivers was hobbling around on a torn ACL that later had to be operated on, and LaDanian Tomlinson begged out of action. So obviously we’re expecting a Charger team that will be fired up. And San Diego has been covering numbers (11-2-1 ATS last 14).

Of course, they’re laying more than a few points here, and New England has now won ten straight road games. But the Pats are averaging only 19.8 points a game, and that’s a far cry from what they were doing in last year’s unbeaten campaign. Coach Bill Belichick has had Matt Cassel doing mostly low-risk stuff, where he’s completed 67% of his throws, but the more he’s been permitted to put it in the air, the more mistakes he’s made – like three interceptions and nine sacks in the last two games.

All this means New England, which is only chalking up 3.7 yards a carry in the running game, is hardly in a position to trade points. Some say the offensive line is finally being exposed, and the defense is getting a little old and worn. Maybe. Is this where the Patriots stop winning road games? Well, it doesn’t have to be, but there is going to be a very fired-up team in front of them; one that may well have been looking ahead last week as they came up flat against the Dolphins (202 total yards). If San Diego gets a lead, they will most definitely attempt to stick the dagger in.

Let’s take a shot and lay the points with San Diego, the 5.5-point favorite in the BetUS NFL football betting odds.

Our PLAY: SAN DIEGO -5.5 **

By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"