NFL Free Picks – Can Chargers Rebound From Monday Night Loss?

In our NFL free picks selection for Sunday’s action we examine whether the San Diego Chargers can rebound from a very tough division loss to Kansas City on Monday night. The Chargers were victimized by big plays and their own offensive inefficiency, but San Diego has gotten off to slow starts before. In this contest, which begins at 4:15 PM ET at Qualcomm Stadium (natural turf) in San Diego, the Bolts are a seven-point favorite, with a posted total of 45.5 points.

[Off topic: by the way, do you want to get a 60% bonus on your first deposit here at BetOnline? Find out more exciting details HERE.]

Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0 SU & ATS) at San Diego Chargers (0-1 SU & ATS)
Live at Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, CA
Sunday, September 19 –  4:15 PM ET
TV: CBS

NFL Betting Odds:
San Diego -7
Jacksonville  +7
Total  45.5

Where should we go with our NFL free pick? Well, San Diego had a rough game all the way around on Monday night, especially since they had an advantage of 389-197 in the yardage department. Big plays and big mistakes killed them, and it is possible that the absence of Vincent Jackson, under suspension and still a holdout, has been felt. But maybe, as we alluded to earlier in the week in the Locker Room, a guy like Kassim Osgood would have been good to have around. He is an able receiver, and the Pro Bowl special teams player would have covering on the punt that Dexter McCluster returned for a touchdown. Instead, Osgood, who caught the winning TD pass for the Jags last Sunday, will be coming at them in a Jacksonville uniform.

Here are some of the trends as they impact our NFL free pick on this game:

• Jacksonville has lost four of its last five games SU
• Jacksonville has covered one of its last five games
• Jacksonville has played six of its last eight games UNDER the total
• Jacksonville has played eight of its last 11 road games UNDER the total
• Jacksonville has lost five of its last six road games SU
• Jacksonville has covered one of its last six road games

• San Diego has won eleven of its last 13 games SU
• San Diego is 1-3-1 ATS in its last five games
• San Diego has covered two of its last seven home games
• San Diego has played four of its last five home games OVER the total
• San Diego has won five of its last six home games SU

…And by the way, bet on football with parlays of 16 through 20 teams for huge payouts at BetOnline Sportsbook!

Something that wasn’t talked about a whole lot last week was the fact that the Jaguars considered their opener with Denver perhaps the biggest regular season game in the franchise’s history, for a couple of reasons – because Tim Tebow was coming in with more fanfare than any other opponent (or Jags player, for that matter) and more importantly, that there has been so much talk about the team being in trouble and headed soon to Los Angeles. It was a big win for David Garrard, who hit 16 of 21 passes with three touchdowns, and in this NFL free pick we consider that he may be more energized this season.

Is Jacksonville bouncing off an emotional high that they will lose with this cross-country trip? That’s a big question to answer as we consider this NFL free pick. They look like they might be improved; they are getting some pressure on the passer (Aaron Kampmann helps in that area) and Philip Rivers is playing without his starter at left tackle (another holdout, Marcus McNeill). I’m not sure you want to under-estimate San Diego’s penchant for not covering in the early going either (now 5-10-1 ATS in the first five games of the season going back to 2007). The Chargers may get this win, but they won’t do it without a tussle. Let’s grab the points with Jacksonville, the seven-point dog in the NFL betting odds, in our NFL free picks for Sunday.

JAY’S PLAY:  JACKSONVILLE +7 **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

NFL betting options are the best anywhere at BetOnline Sportsbook!