New England vs San Diego – NFL Betting

No Moss, no problem for the New England Patriots. Tom Brady and Deion Branch have rediscovered their Super Bowl chemistry and that could be bad news for the San Diego Chargers this Sunday. The San Diego Chargers are disappointments this season to their fans and the NFL Betting public, which makes it surprising that they are favorites against the 4-1 Patriots.

The odds makers have set the NFL betting lines favoring the Chargers by -2½ on the spread. A straight up bet on the underdog Patriots will pay bettors +115 on the moneyline. The game total is set at 47½ points.

NFL Betting Lines
October 24, 2010

New England Patriots     +2½ -110              +115     
San Diego Chargers         -2½ -110               -135

Game Total         47½
Location: Qualcomm Stadium – San Diego CA
Game Time: 4:15pm
TV: CBS

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The New England Patriots will catch a break this week as linebacker Brandon Meriweather escaped with just a $50,000 fine for his helmet to helmet hit on Todd Heap. Had the hit happened this week, he would have been suspended under the new NFL rules.

The Patriots welcomed back Deion Branch last week after picking him up from the Seahawks for a draft pick.  Branch caught 9 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown against a very tough Ravens defense.

After their defeat to the Jets in the second week of the season, many pundits wrote the Patriots off but this team is not going away. Despite the loss to the Jets, they only trail NY in the AFC standings by a game.

The San Diego Chargers are off to another slow start losing 4 of their six games. Last season, they started 2-3 in their first five games but they put together an 11 game winning streak.

They will have a hard time replicating that streak this year with the Patriots, Titans, Texans, Broncos and the Colts coming up on the schedule.

Philip Rivers leads the league in passing with 2008 yards, 2nd in touchdowns with 12 and passer rating with a 100.7 rating.

Rivers will be without his leading receiver Malcolm Floyd who is dealing with a hamstring injury. He might also be without Antonio Gates who is listed as questionable with an ankle injury.  I’m guessing Gates will play but he won’t be as effective with his bum ankle.

The Chargers defense has dominated on offense and defense this year but their special teams has cost them multiple games this year. They are giving up 21 points a game.

The Patriots are scoring 30.8 points a game.

The injuries to Floyd and Gates will have a big effect on Rivers this week. I trust Brady and the Patriots to find a way to score against the Chargers defense.

NFL Betting Pick: New England Patriots +2½