Atlanta vs San Diego Betting
Headline: Battle of the Unbeatens – Falcons Travel to San Diego Sunday
The surprising San Diego Chargers host one of the most impressive teams of 2012 thus far the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday in a battle between two of the few teams yet to have a loss on their record. The Falcons enter off a short week and travel West possibly without their recently busted running back Michael Turner.
Atlanta Falcons (2-0) vs. San Diego Chargers (2-0)
Date/Time: Sunday, September 23, 2012, 4:05 PM ET
Venue: Qualcomm Stadium
Broadcast: FOX
Falcons vs. Chargers Betting Lines from betonline.com
Spread: Chargers -3 (-120)
Moneyline: Falcons +150: Chargers -170
Over/Under: 47 1/2 points
Will it be enough to derail the Falcons this week of will Atlanta prove once again that they don’t care what stands in their way?
The Atlanta Falcons are a deserved 2-0 this season. Sure they beat a hideous Chiefs team in Week 1 but they also recorded an impressive Monday Night win over the high flying Denver Broncos as well.
New offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter has garnered a lot of praise for changing the Falcons from a run-first offense to an up-tempo no-huddle passing offense – rightfully so! Koetter has seemingly transformed Matt Ryan overnight – he has completed 70.1% of his passes in their two games, has five touchdown passes, one rushing TS and zero interceptions – not bad eh?
Ryan has weapons, that’s for sure! Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez make up one of the most feared receiving trios in the game – they are a test for absolutely any defense!
GRAB OUR BEST Expert NFL Picks for 2012 FOOTBALL GAMBLING season!
The Atlanta running game has taken a back seat and the news of Michael Turner’s DUI arrests casts another shadow on the rushing offense. He has averaged just 2.8 yards per rush while his sidekick Jacquizz Rodgers is only running for 2.5 yards per carry.
Atlanta’s defense is typically “bend, not break”. They have allowed an astonishing average of 364.5 yards per game so far. It’s no big deal when you have an offense like the Falcons posess.
The San Diego Chargers are notoriously slow starters but they may have found something this year. They are 2-0 and they haven’t even had Ryan Matthews line up in the backfield. He may be back Sunday to provide a huge boost to the Chargers offense. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Meanwhile Philip Rivers has been very good so far passing for four touchdowns and just one interception. He is completing 74% of his passes and making his average stable of receivers look good. Antonio Gates missed last week’s game and was relatively quiet in Week 1.
If he plays this week he would be a huge boost against a team in which Jacob tame had a big game in Week 2.
San Diego has been surprisingly stout on defense this year. They held the Raiders in check on the ground and did an admirable job against the Dolphins in Week 2. They are allowing an average of just 41.5 yards per game on the ground and 225 yards per game through the air.
Betting Prediction
San Diego is 6-1 against the spread in their last seven games overall, 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games following a win, and 1-5 against the spread in their last six home games against a team with a winning road record.
Atlanta is 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games overall and 1-5 against the spread against a team with a winning record.
This game could end up being the game of the weekend with two hot QBs going at it. But I can’t help but think that the Chargers have overachieved so far in the young season.
The difference will likely be the receiving corps – Atlanta’s trio is at least two tiers above that of San Diego’s. The Falcons get it done Sunday – the three points is a gift!
Pick: Atlanta Falcons +3
