Sunday Night Football Preview

Credit: Mike McGinnis / Stringer

This Sunday night, the New England Patriots will take on the San Diego Chargers. Last week, the Chargers pulled out a last minute victory over the Baltimore Ravens, while the Patriots lost to the Green Bay Packers. On one hand, the Chargers could be considered favorites considering their 5-1 home record, while the Patriots are just 3-3 on the road.

However, you can also look at the fact that the Patriots are coming off of a loss that makes them all the more dangerous. The Patriots have proven to be pretty scary when they’re angry. Tom Brady will look to continue his streak of good games, while Phillip Rivers will try to pick it up. Last week was his first good game in a while and he will try to keep that level of play up.

On the defensive side, the Chargers will have their hands full trying to handle Rob Gronkowski. He poses a matchup problem for any defense that he plays against. Meanwhile, the Patriots will be trying to apply some pressure to Rivers. Last week, they were giving Aaron Rodgers way too much time to get throws off, which led to too many big plays by the Packers offense. If they can manage to get sufficient pressure on Rivers, then their secondary will do a great job of locking down on the San Diego receivers.

No matter how good, no defensive back can ever cover for 10 seconds. In the end, it should be a good game to watch. It should be close for sure, but I don’t see anyway that the Chargers come out victorious. The Patriots running backs will have a big effect on the game. I predict Blount and Vereen to both have a touchdown, although Vereen’s will be through the air. The Chargers will not have a bad game. I see Rivers throwing for a couple touchdowns, although I think he will also throw a pick which may be the deciding factor. Look for something around the score of 35-28 or so. No matter what, it should be a fun game to watch.