NFL Betting Tips: New England Patriots Look To Beat San Diego Chargers To Win AFC Championship

San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots -14

AFC Championship matchups: San Diego Chargers QB Billy Volek or San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers vs. New England Patriots QB Tom Brady.

San Diego Chargers head coach Norv Turner vs. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick

The San Diego Chargers (11-5 SU, 11-5 ATS during the 2007-08 NFL regular season) had an awesome run in the 2008 NFL Playoffs in order to make it to the AFC Championships. After all, it was the San Diego Chargers who eliminated the defending Superbowl champions Indianapolis Colts. The San Diego Chargers have also been performing well against the spread, going 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games.

However, there are a lot of questions surrounding the San Diego Chargers and their hopes of making a trip to Superbowl XLII in Arizona. First, a lot of their key players are suffering injuries and have missed practice for the upcoming AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots. San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson was sidelines in the game against the Indianapolis Colts and missed practice due to an injured knee. Another injured knee belongs to San Diego Chargers starting QB Philip Rivers. If Philip Rivers isn’t fit to play, then it’ll be up Chargers back-up QB Billy Volek to come to the rescue just as he did against the Indianapolis Colts, even rushing in the winning touchdown. However, it’s something to come up with a few big plays, but it’s also one thing to survive an entire game from the starting kick-off until the end, and that’s crucial experience that Billy Volek doesn’t quite have just yet. Other key injuries for the San Diego Chargers include tight end Antonio Gates and defensive tackle Jamal Williams, who also missed practice.

The New England Patriots (16-0 SU, 10-6 ATS during the 2007-08 NFL regular season) are big favorites to win the AFC Championship. Not only are the New England Patriots players in good health, but their winning form as evidenced by their undefeated regular season record of 16-0 is carrying over in the 2008 NFL Playoffs. Of course, the New England Patriots also have the NFL’s Most Valuable Player of the season in QB Tom Brady, who is backed up by the best wide-receiver in the league Randy Moss. There’s no doubt that the New England Patriots can win the AFC Championship straight-up, but then covering the -14 point spread might prove to be a problem.

The New England Patriots are 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games, and are 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home. Those are pretty discouraging betting trends if you want to bet on the New England Patriots to win the 2008 AFC Championship and a spot in Superbowl XLII in Arizona.

The last time the San Diego Chargers played the New England Patriots was in Week 2 of the 2007-08 NFL regular season. The San Diego Chargers were visitors to the New England Patriots, and the Patriots demolished the Chargers 38-14. The New England Patriots also easily covered the -3.5 point spread to win ATS.

AFC Championship Betting Picks: New England Patriots to win straight up, but San Diego Chargers to win ATS for San Diego at New England -14.

To bet on 2008 AFC Championship between San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots, visit the NFL Sportsbook at Bodog.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 12:50 pm and is filed under AFC, NFL, NFL Playoffs, New England Patriots, Sports, Sports Betting, Sportsbooks, Super Bowl. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.