NFL Prop Betting - San Diego Chargers vs. The Field

The Chargers had to come on like a freight train in the final four games of the season to reach the 8-8 mark and get to the playoffs last year. That playoff berth got them a first-place schedule, which includes home games against Baltimore, Miami, Philadelphia and Washington, as well as road games at Pittsburgh, Tennessee and the Giants. It's a tough road for sure, but with Phillip Rivers a year older and wiser, as well as a healthier Shawne Merriman and LaDanian Tomlinson, they can put some space between themselves and the rest of the AFC West.

In my own preview of the Chargers, I felt they could get over the 9.5-win level. There are certainly six very winnable games within their own division, and last year they came to within one point (in a 39-38 loss to Denver) of getting through the AFC West undefeated. The same thing could happen again this time, with Denver weakened greatly at quarterback, Kansas City breaking in a new coach and Matt Cassel going down with a knee injury, and Oakland being, well, Oakland.

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Let's do some regular season win matchups:

CARDINALS VS CHARGERS

Arizona Cardinals +1 Wins +170

San Diego Chargers -1 Wins -230

Let's just say for a minute that the Cardinals could in fact win their division. They would most likely do it with a record of 9-7 or 10-6. San Diego could have a huge roll and go 12-4, conceivably, but there is often a lull with this team before it comes on strong in the second half of the season. So I'm not banking on much more than ten wins. Arizona can stay within range, and besides, the -230 price doesn't exactly draw us to the Chargers. CARDINALS (+1 win, +170)

PANTHERS VS CHARGERS

Carolina Panthers +1 Wins +135

San Diego Chargers -1 Wins -175

Again, maybe I see Carolina as more of a possibility to make the playoffs or win the division than the oddsmakers. To me, 10-6 isn't ridiculous for the Panthers because they have the running game and pass rush to get it done. I do admit that the Chargers have more upside, although improving more than three games from last season would be tough. However, at the same time I would have a hard time laying -175 with something like this. PANTHERS (+1 win, +135)

BEARS VS CHARGERS

Chicago Bears +1 Wins -125

San Diego Chargers -1 Wins -115

Unlike a lot of people, I have a hard time thinking of the Bears as a team that was just a quarterback away from having a super-charged offense. Granted, they weren't that far behind Minnesota in that department prior to this season, and in fact the difference between the offenses was the difference between Adrian Peterson and Matt Forte. The big consideration here, though, is while the Bears play outdoors at Soldier Field, where cold and winds can make a non-explosive offense even less explosive, Minnesota gets to play home games under the roof in the middle of winter. What I'm saying is that even though Jay Cutler is in the fold, that doesn't mean they'll do very much without good wide receivers. Devin Hester has a hard time remembering his routes. I could see Chicago being a .500 team. CHARGERS (+1 win, -125)