The Jets are coming in on a hot streak but they have not played a team the caliber of the Chargers in quite some time.  The Chargers will likely come out of the locker-room throwing the ball with Philip Rivers attacking the Jets’ DBs with his very physical and tall WR and TE group.  Sure, CB Darrelle Revis will likely shut down one of the WRs (likely Vincent Jackson) on Sunday but he can’t cover everyone.  Antonio Gates, Malcolm Floyd and Legedu Naanee could all have huge games on Sunday especially if the Jets can’t get much pressure on Philip Rivers.  The Chargers would love to get a early lead in this game to force the Jets out of their running game offensively, forcing Mark Sanchez to beat them through the air.  LaDainian Tomlinson could have a hard time getting a lot of yards against the Jets’ front seven so they may turn to Darren Sproles who has the speed to get the corner against the Jets.

The keys to the defense will be trying to slow down the Jets’ running  game and to stop TE Dustin Keller who had a good game for them last weekend.  The Chargers need NT Ian Scott and LBs Kevin Burnett and Stephen Cooper to control the middle of the field.  Because if the Jets are gashing the Chargers up the middle with Shonn Greene and Thomas Jones in the running game the Chargers could be in some trouble.  Safeties Eric Weddle and Kevin Ellison will be on the spot to deal with Dustin Keller of the Jets.  If the Chargers can force the Jets to throw the ball they will be in great shape.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 27, JETS 20

The San Diego Chargers (12-3) are hosting the Washington Redskins (4-11) and since the Chargers have sealed a first-round bye I wouldn’t expect the starters to play much in the second half.  The Chargers have two weeks off after this game though, so Phillip Rivers and his receivers should play most of the first half to keep some sort of rhythm going.  I wouldn’t expect LaDainian Tomlinson to get a lot of carries though, due to his age and general wear and tear.  The Chargers should be smart and rest him as much as they can.  This will be a good opportunity for the Chargers’ back-ups to show what they have and some of the young players can show Chargers fans what they might see in the future.

The Redskins will be playing with all of their starters, as their playoff hopes fell out the window long ago.  Quarterback Jason Campbell has had some good games this season, and if he goes up against a lot of back-ups he will probably take advantage and have another solid game.  The Redskins are not a good football team though, and the Chargers should be able to play them tough regardless of who is playing.  I expect the starters to get some playing time, so I am giving the Chargers a slight edge at home.

PREDICTION:  San Diego Chargers 27, Washington Redskins 24

This should be a great match-up on Christmas Night between a great passing team (Chargers) and a great running team (Titans).  The Titans are allowing 265.1 yards passing per game so the Chargers will be airing it out on Christmas Night.  Philip Rivers should have more than enough time to throw the ball as the Titans don’t have much of a pass rush.  That will spell trouble for the Titans as the Chargers have a lot of good receivers with size advantages over their DBs.  So look for Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson to have huge games tomorrow night.  The Chargers will also likely have more running lanes than normal against the Titans who have lost linebackers Keith Bulluck and David Thornton for the year.

The Chargers have had some issues with stopping the run and that’s not a good thing when you are visiting Chris Johnson and Vince Young as the Titans are averaging 162.6 yards rushing and 5.3 yards per carry this season.  If the Chargers can contain Vince Young in the pocket then they will have a much better chance of holding the Titans’ offense down tomorrow night.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 31, TITANS 23

The San Diego Chargers (9-3) have reeled off seven straight wins and they are looking to make it eight this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys (8-4).  Both offenses are capable of scoring a lot of points, so the Chargers defense needs to be ready to attack Tony Romo.  Despite losing last week, Romo went off for 392 yards and 3 touchdowns.  The Chargers cannot let him put up those kinds of numbers  this week.  The running game is even stronger, averaging 130 rushing yards per game, so it will be a good challenge for the Chargers defense.

I think the Chargers will be able to make it eight straight, even if the defense doesn’t play great.  That is because Philip Rivers is playing very well and he finally has a strong running game to rely on as well.  LaDainian Tomlinson has stepped it up in the last few weeks, and with him taking some pressure of off Rivers the Chargers offense should have a lot of success.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  San Diego Chargers 34, Dallas Cowboys 28

These are two teams going in different directions as the Chargers have won six games in a row to improve to 8-3 on the year and the Browns are a almost hopeless 1-10 on the year.  The Chargers can’t afford to overlook the Browns and they won’t this Sunday.  The Chargers should be able to do whatever they want on offense in this game as the Browns are allowing 159.9 yards rushing (4.6 ypc) and 233.4 yards passing per game this year.  The thinking here is that the Chargers will throw to get the lead and then pound the Browns on the ground with LaDainian Tomlinson.  Look for Philip Rivers to work the short stuff to Antonio Gates to start the game and when the Browns’ safeties sneak up to deal with him then he will go up top to WRs Malcolm Floyd and Vincent Jackson.  Rivers might have one of those rare games when the ball doesn’t hit the ground too much against an untalented defense.

The Browns will likely come out running the football with Chris Jennings and Jerome Harrison against a Chargers’ D that is allowing 118.1 yards rushing and 4.3 yards per carry.  But, the Browns will likely fall behind in this football game and if that happens they will need to take the shackles back off of Brady Quinn and let him throw the ball downfield.  Enough of the two yard passes already!  Chansi Stuckey could have a big game for the Browns as he runs decent patterns and he has decent hands.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 42, BROWNS 10