Chargers And Patriots Will Be Ugly

Chargers vs. Patriots, 1:00 ET

The NFL kicked off Week 13 with a good one between the Cowboys and Seahawks. I really enjoy watching games like that - the Seahawks were almost double-digit dogs but were winning at halftime and made it quite the game. The Cowboys ended up putting up 41 points and winning the game, but it was competitive. Hopefully we get even more competitive games today. The first one I'm looking at is between the Chargers and the Patriots.

Both teams have questions for their franchise. The biggest one for the Chargers has to be if they will continue to let Brandon Staley remain the coach after this season. They continue to find ways to lose games; in my opinion, he is the reason for most of them. The Chargers do have some things going for them though. They have a very good quarterback, one that can potentially play at an MVP level or at least be in the conversation before his time is up. They have one of the most versatile running backs in the game in Austin Ekeler. He can line up as a receiver or in the backfield and punish you. Keenan Allen is having a great season, and (knock on wood) is dodging the injury that keeps him out of games like he has suffered in years past. The Chargers defense leaves a lot to be desired in most games, but they've been pretty respectable over the last two contests. They couldn't get the stop needed in the Packers game and ended up losing. But, last week, they held the Ravens to just 20 points. It was still a loss as the offense couldn't get anything going.

Foxborough, MA - November 21: New England Patriots QB Bailey Zappe receives a snap as QB Mac Jones looks on during practice. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The Patriots are going to end up with one of the worst records in the NFL this season. Will it be the last one that Bill Belichick has with New England? a lot remains to be seen. The defense is still as good as any at preventing the opponent from getting what they want, but this offense is embarrassingly bad. Mac Jones will end up as someone's backup. And, next year, someone playing on Saturdays will be under center for the Patriots. They can't keep scoring fewer than 10 points in games. The past two games they've scored a total of 13 points. Again, 13 points in two games. The strangest thing is they've allowed just 10 points in both of those games. I don't know what the win percentage is when you hold your opponent to 10 points, but I'd imagine it is pretty high. Today, I think the Patriots defense will be up for the challenge of stopping the Chargers offense. Los Angeles will score on them, but I don't know that they will put up more than 20 points. The question will still be if the Patriots can get any offense going against the Chargers.

I believe the answer to be that the Chargers defense, although not great, can look elite against this bad Patriots offense. I do think the Chargers cover the 5.5 points in this one, but I am backing the under instead. I know the Chargers are capable of putting up 35 or so points in just about any game, but I don't know if the Patriots are capable of putting up more than 15 points in a game. If both of those numbers hit, this is a loser, but I don't think that's happening. I'll back the under 40.5.

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