Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA
Monday, November 22, 2010, 8:30 pm EST, TV: ESPN
Opening Line: Chargers -9.5
Current Line: Chargers -10
Opening Total: 47
Current Total: 50
Money Line: Chargers -450 / Broncos +370
The Denver Broncos (3-6) snapped a four-game losing streak with a convincing 49-29 rout of Kansas City at home last week, but they could get a big reality check here when they visit the San Diego Chargers (4-5) on Monday Night Football. The Chiefs had led the division going into that game, and now the Chargers (-10) are hoping to continue their run for a fifth consecutive AFC West title following their bye week.
San Diego is 6-1-1 against the spread in the last eight meetings with the Broncos, beating them six times during that stretch. The team re-gained some life before the bye with back-to-back wins over Tennessee and Houston thanks to the continued success of quarterback Philip Rivers, who has thrown for a league-high 2,944 passing yards and could challenge Dan Marino’s single-season record of 5,084 despite the fact that he has been missing some of his top targets the last few weeks.
Rivers is expected to have starting wide receivers Legedu Naanee and Malcom Floyd back in the lineup after both have missed time with hamstring injuries. Nanee has missed the last four games while Floyd has been out the last three. However, Rivers could still be without tight end Antonio Gates due to a plantar fascia injury in his right foot. Gates is tied for the NFL lead with nine touchdown receptions but missed the 29-23 win over the Texans.
Denver has not won more than one game in a row all season but has shown flashes at times due to the impressive play of quarterback Kyle Orton, who ranks second in the league in passing yards behind Rivers with 2,806. Orton has not missed last year’s leading receiver Brandon Marshall, as Brandon Lloyd has taken over and posted a league-best 968 yards.
The main weakness for the Broncos offensively has been a lack of balance, although running back Knowshon Moreno is finally healthy and coming off his first 100-yard game of the season. Still, the team ranks dead last with 76.8 rushing yards per game and will be facing a Chargers defense that ranks second overall in lowest yards allowed (274.7 yards per game), including fourth overall in run defense (89.4 yards per game) and third in pass defense (185.2 ypg).
The OVER is 5-1 in Denver’s last six games and 6-2 in the last eight meetings with San Diego. The Chargers are scoring 33 points per game in going 3-1 at home so far while the Broncos are averaging 19 points in going 1-3 on the road.
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