In a battle of the coasts, the Chargers and Jets will wrap up Week 9 in the NFL tonight! Los Angeles to New York is no easy trip, but the Bolts come into tonight’s game as three-point favorites. The sportsbooks are also predicting a low-scoring affair, as the over/under is set at 40.5 points.
The Chargers
Coming in at 3-4, tonight feels like a must-win for the Chargers. The AFC is extremely competitive, and with a loss tonight, the Bolts would be taking a 3-5 record into a Week 10 matchup with the Lions. With how competitive the conference’s wild card race is going to get, that would be a serious hole. The stakes are obviously high, so expect to see a lot from Los Angeles’ best players on offence, Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen. With receivers Josh Palmer and Mike Williams both out, Ekeler and Allen should carry a heavy load in the pass game tonight. The team will also be hoping to get Quentin Johnston going. The rookie receiver had the best game of his young career last week, and with Allen going against Sauce Gardner for most of the night, they’ll need Johnston to be a factor again.
Defensively, Los Angeles has not been good this season. Thankfully, they’re not going up against an offensive juggernaut in the New York Jets. If the team can get to Zach Wilson early and often, they should be able to keep the Jets from scoring a ton of points tonight. If there’s anyone they’ll have to look out for, though, it’s Breece Hall. Hall is a very dynamic running back that has the potential to turn any play into a big one. If they keep Hall in check and force Wilson to beat them through the air, the Chargers’ chances of winning tonight go up dramatically.
The Jets
The Jets haven’t been good offensively in a very long time, and this year is no different. However, with the talent that this team has on the other side of the ball, they’ve managed to scrap their way to a record of 4-3 so far this year. A weak Los Angeles defence will give them opportunities with the ball tonight, but it’ll be up to Zach Wilson and the offence to execute. Wilson has actually only thrown one interception in the last five weeks, but his five fumbles in the same time span have been an issue. If the Jets want to keep up with Los Angeles, they’ll need to take care of the football. Playing the field position game can work with a defence as good as theirs, but they can’t expect to keep the Chargers off the board if the field is shortened.
As long as those turnovers aren’t happening, New York can be competitive with almost anyone. Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed are one of the best cornerback combos in the NFL, and the defensive line is a tough one to beat as well. Los Angeles likely won’t beat them on the ground, but they’ll need to contain Austin Ekeler in the pass game. Ekeler’s ability to avoid tackles in open space is almost second to none, and the Chargers love getting him involved through the air because of it. The Jets are great defensively, but they’ll have to be on their game tonight against the Chargers’ dynamic offensive attack.
Chargers and Jets: The Pick
Tonight’s AFC tilt between the Chargers and Jets should be a very interesting one. One very good offence will be playing against a very good defence, while a bad offence will be dealing with a bad defence. They say defence wins championships, so because of that and the home field advantage, I’ll take the Jets to find a way to keep this one close and cover the spread. It’s a huge night for two teams with playoff aspirations, so expect to see all the stars on their game in this one.
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