Jaguars at Chargers Pick
After they were embarrassed on Monday night in Kansas City, the San Diego Chargers look to rebound when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Chargers 7-point favorites over the Jaguars in Week 2. The over/under total for this game has been set at 45.5 points.
Jaguars Win If:
Jacksonville has to get the ground game moving again. Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 98 yards in the team’s win over the Broncos last Sunday and Rashad Jennings chipped in with 26 yards on four carries. The Jags’ rushing attack opens up the passing game – we saw it last week. Since the Jags were able to move the ball on the ground against Denver, David Garrard was able to take advantage of holes in the secondary and threw for three touchdowns. The play action pass opens up when the ground game is working and Garrard is perhaps at his best when the opposition gets sucked into committing to the run. Getting MJD involved in the passing game is also a must, as screen plays to him are just as effective as straight run calls.
Chargers Win If:
They stop the run. If San Diego can put Jacksonville in a ton of second and/or third-and-longs then they’re going to win. The Jags lack offensive explosion outside of MJD, so take him away and you basically take their effectiveness away on that side of the ball. Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates and Malcolm Floyd are going to make plays in the passing game – that’s a given. But it’s San Diego’s defense that will win or lose most games for this team all year and they have to limit the big plays. (Unlike what happened Monday night in Kansas City, when the Chiefs had two huge plays in the first half.)
Prediction:
The line opened as high as 8.5 at some books and has now moved to 7, so obviously bettors like the Jaguars coming off a win. However, the Chargers have the offensive weapons to get up early and force the Jaguars to pass to keep pace, which is not what they want to do. If the Bolts can make life hard on Garrard by continuously forcing him to face third-and-longs, then they win this one by a couple of scores. San Diego won’t play as poorly as they did on Monday night – especially not at home.
2010 NFL Week 2 Free Pick: SAN DIEGO CHARGERS –7
BONUS PICK: UNDER 45.5