The final "Monday Night Football" game of the 2007 NFL season should be another of Week 16's mismatches as the AFC West champion San Diego Chargers (9-5) host the disappointing Denver Broncos (6-8), with San Diego an 8.5-point favorite (over/under: 47) on WagerWeb.com.
San Diego, which has won five in a row, is in the playoffs, but its seeding is still to be determined.
If the Chargers win their final two games, they would get the No. 3 spot in the AFC playoffs and avoid New England until the conference championship game if both make it that far.
Since starting 1-3, San Diego has won eight of 10, a streak that got its start with a 41-3 win at Denver on Oct. 7. In that rout, Philip Rivers had a career-high 151.4 passer rating, Michael Turner rushed for 147 yards, LaDainian Tomlinson had 140 total yards, and Antonio Gates (113) and Vincent Jackson (84) combined for nearly 200 receiving yards.
The Chargers finished with 484 total yards.
"I just think we have grown as a team," said Gates.
"The first couple of months we were learning each other. I think right now, it's like we build, we build, and now we're playing our best football around this time where we need it the most."
A win over the Broncos would give the Bolts a 10-win season, their third in the last four years and their 11th in team history. A win would also give the Chargers four straight wins against the Broncos; their third season sweep since 1982 and their ninth season sweep since the series began in 1960.
Tomlinson has been on fire for San Diego, gaining 439 yards on the ground in his last three games and now has 1,311 yards rushing on the season, just six behind Pittsburgh's Willie Parker entering Week 16 for the league lead. Tomlinson has run for five TDs and caught one in that span.Tomlinson leads the NFL with 14 rushing touchdowns and needs just one more for his fourth straight 15-touchdown season. It would be the longest active streak in the NFL.
He's also closing in on his fourth career 1,500-yard season, needing just 189 yards over the last two games.
Meanwhile, receiver Chris Chambers has helped steady the San Diego passing game since his arrival via trade from Miami in October. Chambers is just 150 yards shy of his second career 1,000-yard season. He has eight catches for 159 yards in the Bolts last two games, as he's gotten more comfortable with Rivers. The Chargers are 6-2 since he joined the team. In eight games San Diego, Chambers is averaging 15.5 yards per catch.
Meanwhile, Denver second-year QB Jay Cutler has been solid: 64.6 percent completions, 18 TDs, 90.8 rating, but the Broncos rank 17th in the league in points scored. They've had five games of 27 or more points, but six games of 15 or fewer despite being sixth in the NFL in yards. And the Broncos won't have a 1,000-yard rusher for the first time since 2001, yet they rank eighth in the league in yards rushing per game and third in yards per carry.
It's the Denver defense that has been the biggest problem. Only the Raiders have allowed more yards per carry than Denver (4.5), and only the Dolphins and Lions have allowed more points than the Broncos (367).
The lowdown: Chargers CB Antonio Cromartie has a league-high 10 interceptions. ...
The Broncos will watch the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2001-02. ... The Chargers are the 11th team since 1990 to start 1-3 or worse and still win their division. ... The Chargers currently lead the NFL with 35 takeaways, and their 34 sacks rank ninth in the league. ... In the last three games of the series, the Chargers have outscored Denver 124-50
That's a trend, folks. Chargers cover on Monday.
Betting trends
The Broncos are 4-10 ATS.
The Broncos are 1-6 ATS away.
The Broncos are 2-4 ATS as the underdog.
The Broncos are 1-4 ATS as an away underdog.
The Chargers are 9-5 ATS.
The Chargers are 6-1 ATS at home.
The Chargers are 6-3 ATS as the favorite.
The Chargers are 5-1 ATS as a home favorite.
More NFL Trends.
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