Monday's winner ...
25 Dime: CHARGERS (minus the points vs. Broncos) ... NOTE: Buy the half-point with San Diego, taking this number from -3 1/2 to the key number of -3.
Chargers
Let me take you back a little more than a year. The San Diego Chargers entered the 2008 season as the odds-on favorite to win the AFC West title, but after two weeks, they were 0-2 after a pair of heartbreaking, last-play-of-the-game losses to Carolina (26-24) and at Denver (39-38, the so-called “Hochuli” game). All the experts that had forecast such great things for the Chargers started changing their tune, calling them overrated, a team that couldn’t close, a team that didn’t have heart, a defense that was like Swiss cheese. The very next week, Brett Favre and the upstart Jets came to San Diego on a Monday night … and the desperate Chargers jumped out to a 38-14 lead and rolled 48-29 as a nine-point home favorite. They had 357 yards to 308 for the Jets and forced four turnovers, including picking off Favre three times.
The Chargers followed that up with a blowout win over the Raiders and all looked well. Then they went to Miami and lost 17-10 to a Dolphins squad that was 1-15 the previous year, and doubters started chirping again. Sitting at 2-2, San Diego was at a crossroads, with hated New England – a team that had had the Chargers’ number the previous three years and a team starting to feel good about itself at 3-1 with Matt Cassel as the quarterback – was on deck on a Sunday night. All the Chargers did was make Cassel look exactly like a QB who had started just four games since high school and San Diego rolled to a 30-10 win as a six-point home favorite (and the score was 30-3 late in the fourth quarter), outgaining the Patriots 404-299.
Of course, the Chargers failed to capitalize on the momentum from that Patriots win, losing five of their next six games (the only victory coming by a 20-19 score against the crappy Chiefs, who went for a game-winning 2-point conversion instead of a tie and overtime in the waning seconds). Again, the San Diego haters came out of the woodwork. So what happened next? The Chargers ripped off four straight wins, including three by margins of 24, 17 and 31 points, culminating with a 52-21 season-ending rout of these Broncos as a seven-point home favorite. That result allowed San Diego to best Denver and win the AFC West title all the experts had the Bolts pegged to win in August. Not only that, but the Chargers went on the next week to upset the favored Colts in the first round of the playoffs.
Here’s the point of all this: Whenever the Chargers have been doubted recently, whenever they’ve had their backs against the wall, they come out swinging. And after that humiliating, uglier-than-the-final-score-indicates 38-28 loss at the Steelers on prime time two Sundays ago – followed by a well-timed bye week – I expect the Chargers tonight to once again step up, overcome adversity, play up to their capabilities, live up to their preseason hype and, most of all, shove it down the throats of their haters while at the same time bringing the high-flying Broncos back down to earth.
See, the simple fact is that the 2-2 Chargers aren’t as bad as they looked against Pittsburgh (and, to some extent, as bad as they looked in their other loss at home to Baltimore). Nor are the 5-0 Broncos as good as their record indicates. To that latter point, I’m not saying Denver’s a total fraud. What I am saying is the Broncos have benefitted from an unbelievably fortunate schedule and that – much like the Jets and Ravens and Bengals and Giants and Eagles – they’re due for a come-down against a quality opponent this week.
To review Denver’s season to this point: It started with that fluky 12-7 “Brandon Stokely tipped-pass” victory at Cincinnati. That was followed by a home win over the Browns and a road win at the Raiders, two of THE worst teams in the NFL. Then came two more home games against the overrated, inconsistent Cowboys and last Sunday’s gritty, 20-17 overtime win over the Patriots, whose Hall of Fame QB (Tom Brady) missed countless open receivers and, apparently – after yesterday’s six-TD-in-just-over-a-half performance against the Titans – was one week away from returning to the Tom Brady Of Old.
The fact the Broncos got the Cowboys and Patriots in Denver was a BIG deal. It’s not easy for teams to play in the thin Mile High air, particularly when they don’t regularly have to. So I’m not real surprised that the Broncos dominated both of those games in the second half (not to mention outscored Cleveland 17-0 in the second half in their first home game).
Now, though, the Broncos leave the comforts of Mile High and head to a venue where they’ve had ZERO success recently. Denver’s last three trips to San Diego have ended in SU and ATS losses by scores of 48-20, 23-3 and 52-21. In fact, take away that Hochuli debacle – a game the suits in the NFL office agree the Chargers should’ve won – and San Diego has won and covered five straight against Denver, with four of those wins coming by an average of 29.3 points per game! And don’t kid yourself – the Broncos were NOT that bad of a team the last three years. Hell, they were 8-5 last year before their season-ending collapse.
A couple of additional notes about the Chargers: QB Philip Rivers – who is finally getting his due as one of the best quarterbacks in the game after getting off to another tremendous start despite having zero running game behind him – has owned the Broncos since becoming the Chargers’ starting quarterback in 2006. He’s been at the helm during San Diego’s 5-1 run vs. Denver, and he’s posted a passer rating greater than 115 while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes for 257.3 yards per game with 12 TDs and three INTs. Also, Rivers is undefeated in four games on Monday Night Football, winning by scores of 27-0 (home), 23-3 (vs. Denver at home), 48-29 (at home) and 24-20 (on the road). Throw in Sunday and Thursday night marquee games, and Rivers is 9-2 SU and 8-3 ATS under the prime-time lights, and that includes last week’s loss to Pittsburgh.
In addition to being 5-0-1 ATS in its last six games against Denver and 3-1 ATS in its last four Monday night games (3-0 at home), the Chargers are on impressive ATS streaks of 21-8-4 against the AFC West, 4-1 at home, 21-5 when favored by 3½ to 10 points and 18-7-3 after a defeat.
Bottom line: This is a gut-check for the Chargers and a classic letdown spot for Denver. Yes, the Broncos’ defense has been great this season, but it hasn’t faced an offense as prolific and in tune as the Chargers are – certainly they haven’t faced such an offense on the road. And with two weeks to prep for this contest and fix their issues on the offensive line and in the defensive front seven, I have to believe the Bolts will be playing at their peak tonight – just like they were against the Jets and Patriots in prime-time action last year. At the same time, I believe the Broncos are due for a wake-up call in much the same way the Eagles, Ravens, Jets, Giants and Bengals got slapped in the face by reality yesterday. Chargers roll 34-17.
BOUGHT,PAID AND CONFIRMED------GL GUYS