Sport: NFLPick Selection: San Diego Chargers -10 -110
Detroit Lions at San Diego Chargers 4:15 PM ET
San Diego Chargers -10 -110
***Blue Ribbon Blowout*** The Lions started the season on a high note with six wins in their first eight games and everyone was calling Jon Kitna a genius for predicting 10 wins. What have the Lions done since then? They have lost five straight games and what was once looking like a guaranteed playoff spot has turned into a likely playoff free postseason for Detroit. What?s more, the Lions had an upset in the making against Dallas last Sunday only to see it squandered in the final seconds. How can the Lions recover from that?
San Diego grabbed an unlikely win in overtime last week against Tennessee and the Chargers are once again looking like a force that needs to be reckoned with. The Chargers have won three straight games and seven of their last nine to take a firm hold on the AFC West. With Denver playing Thursday, San Diego will know if it can clinch outright on Sunday or not. Even so, the Chargers need to keep winning and will want to go into the playoffs with a head of steam that they are still picking up.
This game is eerily similar to the matchup Detroit had in Minnesota two weeks ago. The Vikings blasted the Lions as Detroit had no answers for the Minnesota running game. Adrian Peterson went wild for 116 yards on 15 carries (7.7 ypc) while Chester Taylor was not far behind with 70 yards on 14 carries (5.0 ypc). Do you think LaDanian Tomlinson is licking his shops? The Tomlinson of old has been on the field the last two weeks with 323 yards on 49 attempts (6.6 ypc).
San Diego has won the yardage battle in its last four games as the defense has stepped up just as much as the offense has. The unit has allowed 239.3 ypg during its current three-game winning streak while giving up just 13.7 ppg. Shawne Merriman is out for this one which definitely hurts the defense but he missed the second half last week against the Titans and the defense did not miss a step. Detroit has looked good at times but has also looked horrible on offense and the latter shows up here as it is a bad team on the road
San Diego is hot and the Lions are cold and while that normally means public money, that isn?t the case here. The line is big but it is big for a reason and one that can be covered easily. Play against road underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points after having lost four or five out of their last six games against opponent after having won four out of their last five games. This situation is 38-11 (77.6 percent) over the last 10 seasons. This is a perfect 3-0 this season and 10-1 ATS over the last three years. Play San Diego Chargers 2.5 Units
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