Bettors picking Chargers to beat spread against Patriots

Jan 18, 2008/By Nick Bailey

The NFL conference championships get underway Sunday with the heavily favored New England Patriots hosting the San Diego Chargers, and the New York Giants visiting the Green Bay Packers in a classic clash of original NFL teams.

The Patriots are favored by 14 points over San Diego, with the over/under at 47½, while the Packers are 7-point favorite over the Giants, and the total at 4 ½.

Sportsbooks are reporting a lot of action on San Diego beating the spread, with about 52 per cent of point-spread bets on the Chargers as of Friday. The spread opened at 15½ last Monday and fell to 14 during the week.

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New England has a 5-2 SU and ATS edge over San Diego over the past seven meetings. The teams last squared off on Sept. 16, when the unbeaten Patriots won 38-14, easily covering the 3½-point spread. The game was over the total of 46.

The Chargers beat the Indianapolis Colts 28-24 as an 11-point underdog in their AFC Divisional matchup last week. The score went over the total of 47. The Patriots beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-20 victory in their AFC Divisional game, with the Pats failing to cover the 12-point home spread, and the score a push against the total of 51.

Meanwhile, Green Bay has a big edge over New York over the past five tilts, going 4-1 SU and ATS. That includes a 35-13 win on Sept. 16 as a 2½-point underdog. The score was over the total of 39½.
 
The Giants got past the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 as a 7-point underdog in last week's NFC Divisional matchup. The score was under the total of 47½. And Brett Favre threw three touchdowns to lead the Packers to a 42-20 win over the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional playoffs. The Packers covered the 7½-point spread, and the score was over the total of 44.

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