Jacksonville Jaguars vs San Diego Chargers
The Chargers look to win their third game in a row after losing their regular season opener when they host Blake Bortles and the Jaguars who are looking to pick up their first win of the season as they travel to the west coast and invade Qualcomm Stadium in what will be Bortles’ first career start.
Date: Sunday, Sept. 28
Start time: 4:05 p.m. ET
Location: San Diego, CA.
Stadium: Qualcomm Stadium
TV info: CBS
Live stream: NFL Sunday Ticket
Radio: Jaguars broadcasts here. Chargers broadcast here.
Ticket info: For Bears ticket info click here. For Jaguars ticket info click here.
Keys to Victory
San Diego’s depth at running back will be tested with the loss of Danny Woodhead for the season after he broke his leg and injured his ankle in the team’s Week 2 win against the Buffalo Bills and still are without starting running back Ryan Matthews with his sprained MCL, so Donald Brown will be the starter for the Chargers on Sunday. Brown gets a nice matchup as the Jaguars have the worst rush defense in the NFL, allowing 160 yards per game, so he should find some running room on Sunday.
The Chargers need Philip Rivers to find Keenan Allen and Antonio Gates in the passing game to lessen the pressure on Brown who makes his first start for the team and they should have a nice afternoon as the Jaguars also have the worst pass defense in the league, allowing 306 yards per game.
Jacksonville needs to get Bortles in a rhythm early and the offensive line needs to protect and give him a clean pocket so he won’t be rattled and rush his throws and risk interceptions. Cecil Shorts returned to the lineup last week and gives him a security blanket to work with. Toby Gerhart has yet to look like a worthy investment with only 82 yards on 34 carries this season, so to have a shot at the upset, Gerhart needs to top 100 yards against the league’s No. 9 rush defense.
Betting Odds
Point spread: SD -13.5
Moneyline: JAX +671/ SD -850
Over/Under: 44.5
Prediction
Despite the Chargers down their top two running backs and will be without Manti Te’o with a broken foot, the Chargers are the more talented team and Brown has experience as a featured ball carrier in his career dating back to his time with the Indianapolis Colts. San Diego should have no problem moving the ball against the league’s worst defense and Rivers should lead the offense to a number of scoring drives against the overmatched Jaguars.
I like Bortles’ future and he has a nice collection of young receivers to work with, but the lack of balance on offense with Gerhart looking like a free agent bust and the defense the worst in the league, I don’t see a scenario where they travel across three time zones and pick up the win with Bortles making his first career start.
Final Score: Jaguars: 17, Chargers: 34