The AFC East Champion New England Patriots (13-4), winners of four straight AFC titles, will face the AFC West Champion San Diego Chargers (14-2) at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif., on Sunday with a berth in the 2006 AFC Championship Game at stake. The game will kickoff at 4:30 p.m. EST.
The game will feature two teams that are solid on both sides of the ball. Each club finished the regular season ranked in the NFL's top seven in scoring offense and scoring defense. San Diego led the NFL by totaling an average of 30.8 points per game, while the Patriots set a team record and ranked second in the league allowing opponents just 14.8 points per game. New England's average scoring output of 24.1 points per game ranked seventh in the league, while the Chargers placed seventh in the NFL in allowing 18.9 points per game.
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Sunday's game will be the first postseason meeting between the two teams since 1963 AFL Championship Game. The Chargers have had some success against the Patriots in recent years. Last October, the Chargers broke New England’s 21-game home winning streak by routing the then-defending Super Bowl champions, 41-17, at Gillette Stadium. LaDainian Tomlinson, this seasons MVP, rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns and Antonio Gates caught six passes for 108 yards in the victory. Bet on LaDainian Tomlinson to win the Super Bowl MVP 3 to 1 odds at Nine.com. For every $100 wagered pays off $300.
Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers will face his toughest test to date against one of the most creative defensive minds of this era, and those around him expect great things from their signal caller.
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“I’m expecting Philip to come out and have one of the best games of his career,” tight end Antonio Gates said. “Obviously that’s the focus point. It’s on Philip Rivers and can he get the job done. Everybody in the locker room believes that, ‘Hey, this is our guy. He can lead us to a world championship.”
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has started three times against San Diego, completing 88 passes for 941 yards. Brady's 364 yards against the Chargers in 2001 mark the fourth highest single-game total of his career. His 353 yards at San Diego on Sept. 29, 2002 constitute Brady's seventh highest career total. However, in his career Brady has only lost one game in which he has thrown for more than 300 yards, and that game was against the Chargers on Sept. 29, 2002. Bet on Tom Brady to win the Super Bowl MVP 8 to 1 odds at Nine.com. For every $100 wagered pays off $800.
The Patriots have won their last four playoff games against top seeded teams. New England holds an all-time record of 5-3 against top-seeded teams in the playoffs, including a 3-1 record in road games and a 2-2 mark in Super Bowls at neutral sites.
Bodog.com, one of the leaders in offshore sports betting, installed the San Diego Chargers the favorite by a -3 point chalk with the total set at 41. Twenty-four hours prior to kickoff the betting line has moved a full point favoring the Chargers by -4.
The Chargers and Patriots both were equal on the betting board cashing against the spread for their backers in 9-of-16 games during the regular season. New England has covered a total of ten times for backers with the extra game they played against the New York Jets in the Wild-Card game last week. With the cover against the Jets, New England has covered four straight ATS.
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The UNDER covered in 10-of-16 regular season games for the Patriots while the OVER covered 10 times in games the Chargers played.
