The Patriots might have the guts to let Matt Cassel throw the ball against the Chargers who are allowing 265.6 yards passing per game (103.0 QB Rating).  But, the more likely scenario for the Patriots’ offense will likely be keeping the ball on the ground with Sammy Morris, LaMont Jordan, Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk against the Chargers who are allowing 113.4 yards rushing per game (4.4 ypc).  The Chargers have 12 sacks this season and the Patriots’ line hasn’t pass blocked well this year allowing 16 sacks so the Patriots will likely keep the passing game to the short stuff so look for Wes Welker to have a better game than Randy Moss this week.

The Chargers will likely try to punish the Patriots’ defense with the running game as LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles should find a lot of running room as the Patriots are allowing 124.8 yards rushing per game (4.9 ypc) this season.  Antonio Gates should also had a huge game working against the Patriots’ safeties who appear overmatched.  Philip Rivers has been excellent this season so look for him to also test the Patriots deep with Vincent Jackson and 2nd year man Craig Davis who will be starting in injured Chris Chambers (ankle) place.

PREDICTION:  SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 27, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 16

The San Diego Chargers got ambushed in Miami last week as the Dolphins outplayed them in every facet of the game.  The Dolphins outgained the Chargers 390-202 and they held onto the football for an amazing 36:41 in this game.  It’s damn hard to win that way and the Chargers didn’t.  Philip Rivers had his worst game of the season completing 13 of 28 passes for 159 yards with a TD pass to Chris Chambers.  LaDainian Tomlinson was also bottled up the whole game as he rushed for 35 yards (2.9 ypc) and caught 5 passes for 22 yards (4.4 avg).  The Fins’ defense was also ganging up on Antonio Gates who only caught 1 pass for 12 yards.  The Dolphins rushed for 167 yards (4.2 ypc) and completed 22 of 29 passes for 223 yards last week against the Chargers.  The Chargers are now a very disappointing 2-3 on the season.

These two teams look like they are both getting their acts together so this should be a more competitive game than most expect it to be.  The Chargers will likely come out throwing the ball against a Dolphins’ defense that is allowing opposing QBs to post a rating of 114.8 so far this season.  With that in mind look for Philip Rivers to move the ball around to Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates, Mike Tolbert, Chris Chambers, L.T. and Darren Sproles.  The Dolphins are only allowing 3.3 yards per carry and 90.7 yards rushing per game this season but that won’t stop the Chargers from trying to run the football with L.T.

The Chargers defense is very vulnerable to the passing game allowing 276.3 passing yards per game but the Dolphins really don’t have the weapons to exploit that weakness.  But, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams have to be looking forward to running against a Chargers’ defense that is allowing 100.0 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry. 

PREDICTION:  SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 38, MIAMI DOLPHINS 27

The Chargers were down 15-3 at the end of the 3rd quarter before they woke up and outscored the Raiders 25-3 to pull away with a nice road win.  Philip Rivers had his worst game of the season completing 14 of 25 passes for 180 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions.  LaDainian Tomlinson had his best game of the season for the Chargers with 106 yards rushing on 20 carries (5.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs (13, 41 yarders).  Antonio Gates also had a solid game for the Chargers with 5 grabs for 58 yards (11.6 avg) with a TD grab.  The Chargers finished up with 141 yards rushing on 30 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 25 passes for 154 yards.

The Chargers’ defense rolled up six sacks against the Raiders last Sunday.  Safety Eric Weddle (7 tackles) and DE Luis Castillo (6 tackles, 1.5 sacks) led the way for the Chargers on D.  The Raiders finished up with 72 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 37 passes for 251 yards.  The Chargers are now 2-2 on the season with this win.