The Chargers went into Indianapolis last week, and pulled off the upset over the Colts. They did so, by forcing turnovers, putting pressure on Peyton Manning, and making plays on offense when the opportunity arose. Unfortunately for the Chargers, that win came at a heavy price. The NFL's leading rusher Ladanian Tomlinson, along with QB Philip Rivers both were knocked from the game with knee injuries. Both say they expect to play this week against the Patriots, but they will clearly not be 100%. For the Chargers, the good news is that their backups played exceptionally well, and that is no fluke. Running back Michael Turner carried the ball 17 times for 71 yards with an average of about 4.2 yards per carry. Turner is the best backup RB in the NFL and would be the feature back for many NFL teams. The only thing holding him back is that he plays behind Ladanian Tomlinson. Veteran Billy Voleck, is a very capable and competent quarterback. He is accurate and will not make many mistakes, as demonstrated in his game winning, 78 yard drive that took 8 plays and was capped off with a QB sneak touchdown from the one yard line. When the Chargers get into the red zone, they must get touchdowns. If the are stuck settling for field goals, they will not be able to keep pace with the New England offense.
Let's not get too caught up with the offense however, it will be up to the San Diego defense if they expect to beat the Patriots. They lead the league in turnovers and they will need to force more. The Chargers have some extra motivation in this game. Besides getting spanked by the Pats early in the season, the Patriots also defeated the Chargers in the divisional round of the playoffs last year in San Diego. It was not exactly the best display of sportsmanship when several New England players were doing Shawne Merriman's "lights out" celebration on the field after the game.
All that being said, Bill Bellichick always finds a way to take opponents out of their game plan. He finds what you do best, and puts together a scheme to make sure you cannot do whatever that may be. In this case, it will be the run game. That will force Philip Rivers/Billy Voleck to win the game with their arm. Although Rivers is much improved from his early season struggles, without Antonio Gates being completely healthy the passing game will struggle in the cold in New England. The high temperature for Sunday is a frigid 27 degrees, and there will be winds of more than twenty miles per hour. Those winds will help slow down the Patriots and they will not get the 411 yards of offense per game that they average, but they will get just enough to squeak out a win. I like the Pats to continue their quest to join the '72 Dolphins in their neighborhood of undefeated super bowl champs. 23-19
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