Tennessee Titans at San Diego Chargers, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA
Sunday, October 31, 2010, 4:05 pm EST, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Titans -3.5
Current Line: Titans -3.5
Opening Total: 43.5
Current Total: 44.5
Money Line: Chargers -190 / Titans +165
The San Diego Chargers (2-5) do not have much going in their favor right now, but one advantage they will have against the Tennessee Titans (5-2) on Sunday is a seven-game series winning streak. The Chargers (-3.5) have been favored in all seven of their games this season but are riding a three-game skid both straight-up and against the spread, something they hope to end against a Titans squad looking for their fourth straight win overall.
Tennessee is coming off an impressive 37-19 rout of Philadelphia at home last week behind quarterback Kerry Collins and wide receiver Kenny Britt. With starter Vince Young sidelined due to ankle and knee sprains, Collins stepped up by connecting with Britt on seven passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Chris Johnson was limited to 66 yards on 24 carries but rushed for a combined 244 on 45 attempts with three touchdowns in the previous two games.
Young, Britt and Johnson could find it difficult to put points up on the board against the top-ranked San Diego defense, which is giving up 244.3 yards per game despite allowing an average of 21.3 points. The biggest problem for the Chargers so far this season has been turnovers, as they have given the ball away 18 times while forcing only one in their favor.
The Titans have been a much more opportunistic team, leading the NFL with 12 interceptions and taking advantage of 11 turnovers by the opposition during their three game winning streak. That could also be a problem for San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers, who leads the league with 2,344 passing yards but has been forced to rally his team back from big deficits too many times.
The Chargers have trailed by at least 12 points in each of their last three games, rallying back to close within three points twice during that stretch while they actually took the lead late against Oakland in an eventual 35-27 road loss. Rivers has been outstanding in each of the comeback attempts, but his team would be better off building a lead early on if they want to get back on the winning track.
San Diego has failed to generate any kind of a running game lately due to the slow starts and could have a tough time again on the ground against Tennessee. The Titans have given up 97.7 rushing yards per game and only one touchdown. To make matters worse, rookie running back Ryan Mathews has yet to carry the ball more than 12 times in any game for the Chargers.
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