Despite Streak, San Diego Chargers Underdogs Against Tennessee Titans

NFL News - December 21st, 2009 - Written by John

The San Diego Chargers have already wrapped up the AFC West, but can still meddle with the playoff picture. After two big wins over the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals, the Chargers travel to Tennessee to play a Titans team still jockeying for the sixth-and-final spot in the AFC bracket. And they will do it on Christmas Day.

The Titans are actually favored in the 2009 NFL Week 16 Betting Odds by three, according to BetUS, with a payout of -115 to San Diego's -105. The total is 47.

The Chargers beat Tennessee the last time the teams met in a 2007 first-round playoff game, and have won four-straight since 2002.

Although it is a seemingly meaningless game for San Diego at the moment after turning away the Bengals last week to seal the division, it could have serious implications down the road. Tennessee is clearly one of the hottest teams in the AFC and could pose a real threat if it were to make the playoffs. If the Titans win out, and the Denver Broncos lose out, they could conceivably be the fifth-seeded team, which would put them on a path to meet the Chargers in the divisional round.

A win on Sunday would eliminate all that.

And that's all that San Diego has been doing lately. With a loss by the New Orleans Saints on Saturday, the Chargers currently hold football's second-longest win streak at nine games. And they've done it primarily through the air.

Philip Rivers has thrown for at least 270 yards in each of his last four games, while tight end Antonio Gates and wideout Vincent Jackson each have two 100-yard games in that span. Jackson leads the team with 1,097 yards, which is a mere 27 yards more than Gates' 1,071.

Malcolm Floyd and Darren Sproles are the other pass catchers with over 450 yards. Bad news considering the Titans are ranked second-to-last in pass defense.

LaDainian Tomlinson failed the reach the end zone last week, but still leads the team with 670 yards and 10 scores.

Those numbers, however, pale in comparison to Tennessee's sparkling back, Chris Johnson. Everyone's numbers do. The sophomore back out of East Carolina is only 270 yards away from 2,000 with two games left to play. His 1,730 yards are only 30 shy of Adrian Peterson's season total from a year ago, which put him on the map as the game's premier rusher.

That statement can be heavily debated after Johnson's season, which has put him at the forefront of MVP talk. But to ignore Vince Young's impact on the season so far would be shortsighted. He is 7-1 since being named starter and played terrific last week despite a sore hammy. He threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns in a win over the Miami Dolphins that kept the Titans in the playoff hunt.

At 7-7, they are still at long odds even if they win on Sunday, but simply being in the conversation has to be satisfying enough.