Following Saturday's 31-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars
as the 13½-point favorites in the division title game, Tom Brady and
company will appear in the AFC's conference championship game for the
fifth time in seven seasons.
When playing in conference title games they are 4-1 ATS (against the
spread) in their last five, but they have failed to cash in their last
four games overall.
Brady set another individual record in the non-cover win, by tossing
26 completions in 28 attempts, an NFL record 92.9 percent for
regular-season and playoff games. As well, he threw three touchdown
passes and racked up 262 yards, which may be bad news for Patriots backers versus San Diego
considering New England is 0-5 ATS in their last five games after
accumulating more than 250 yards passing in their previous game.
But despite New England's dominance on both sides of the ball, New
England has dropped the cash in six of their last seven games,
including last week's playoff contest.
Last season, the Patriots lost to Indianapolis
in the AFC title game, 38-34, after squandering an 18-point lead. New
England will host next Sunday's AFC's conference game at Gillette
Stadium against San Diego.
However, home cooking hasn't help New England lately as they've
covered the number at home in just one of their last five games at
Gillette Stadium.
San Diego earned the right to play the Patriots by knocking off the Colts
28-24 Sunday at the RCA Dome as the double-digit underdogs. Despite
having LaDainaian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers on the sideline, it was
the Chargers eighth consecutive SU (straight up) win, covering the
spread in every game during the win streak. The Chargers are 43-20-2
ATS in their last 65 games overall.
The Patriots beat the Chargers as the 3½--point favorites at home in
Week 2, as Brady threw for 279 yards (25-of-31) and three touchdowns as
New England routed San Diego 38-14.
Chargers' Philip Rivers threw for just 63 yards and had two
interceptions in the first half, and ended up going 19-of-30 for 179
yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
When the Patriots and Chargers meet, the over has cashed in the last four meetings, and New England has covered the spread in five of the last seven games between the two.
This should be another high-scoring game with the perfect Patriots and red hot Chargers playing for rights to appear in Super Bowl XLII. NFL odds
list New England the early 14-point favorites with a game total of 49,
which may favor San Diego considering the underdog is 4-1 ATS in their
last five meetings.
With history, perfection and a potential trip to the Super Bowl on the line, you won't want to miss this one Sunday at 3:00pm EST. There will be live wagering offered throughout the game.
> > Check Super Bowl Odds Here
Robbie Maddux