NFL Divisional Playoffs: New York Jets vs. San Diego Chargers | Preview & Predictions

NFL Divisional Round Playoffs

New York Jets @ San Diego Chargers (-7.5)       Over/Under 42.5

Jets vs Chargers Predictions

New York head coach Rex Ryan said before their game against the Bengals they should not only be favored in that game they should be favored to win it all. After leaving Cincinnati with a convincing 24-14 win they head to San Diego to play the Chargers, arguably the best team in the league in a 4:40 P.M start on Sunday. If they come away with a win here, then he just might be right.

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New York made no secret about their approach to the Cincinnati game. They planned to run the ball on offense and smother the Bengals on defense. The amazing thing is they executed this plan to a tee. Behind the running of Shonn Greene who gained 135 yards on 21 carries they were able to win the time of possession battle by extending drives. Defensively, the Bengals had no answer for their blitz and coverage schemes as QB Carson Palmer ended the day 18 for 36 for 146 yards. Overall they held Cincinnati to just 281 yards of total offense which was just slightly more than their #1 ranked defense averaged for the year. Probably the biggest surprise was the play of rookie QB Mark Sanchez. Sanchez has been referred to as the weak link in the chain, but in this game he played mistake free ball and made some big throws when he had to. His performance will go a long way towards providing the necessary confidence to face a much tougher test this week.

Many feel that the Jets should not even have made the playoffs after wins in their last two games over teams that were resting many of their starters for the playoffs. Against the Colts they were actually trailing before Peyton Manning took a seat on the bench. Irregardless, they showed last week that they do belong in the tournament and they are not going to go away quietly. New York certainly has the credentials of a playoff team. They have the number one ranked defense in three categories; yards allowed, passing yards allowed, and most importantly points allowed. They compliment this with the number one rushing offense which gives them a powerful one-two punch. Sanchez does not have the experience, but he does have the ability as he has shown flashes of brilliance more than a few times this season. As long as they do put too much weight on his shoulder he should be able to carry the load in this game.

San Diego began the season losing three out of their first five games for the second year in a row and all the critics began to write them off for the year as their division rival Denver ran their record to 5-0. Starting with a 37-7 win over Kansas City they reeled off 11 straight wins to finish the season 13-3. QB Philip Rivers had a MVP like season and the Chargers’ defense improved each and every week only giving up an average of 16.8 points over their last seven games. Much of River’s success can be attributed to TE Antonio Gates and WR Vincent Jackson who each had over 1100 yards receiving this season. RD LaDainian Tomlinson is not the player he once was but he still ran for 730 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. Statistically they may not be the best team on paper, but in reality until someone beats them they are the best team left.

For New York, they cannot let themselves get overwhelmed by the magnitude of this game. They showed a lot of composure last week, but this is a much bigger stage against a much better team. Once again they will rely on the running game and their defense but they will both have to be playing at a high level to pull off the upset.

For San Diego, they have to keep doing all the things that have gotten them to this point. You do not win 11 straight games by making mistakes and shooting yourself in the foot. Their success will be squarely on the shoulders of Rivers as he has come up big time after time during their magical run. They have the ability to raise their game up as the stakes increase as they were very close to making it to the Super Bowl last season.

The Jets defense will keep them in this game for awhile, but in the long run their offense does not have the horses to run with San Diego. I like the Chargers and the OVER.

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