Chargers Vs Titans Friday Night Football

San Diego Chargers Vs. Tennessee Titans, NFL Week 16 Friday Night Football , 7:30 p.m. EST, Christmas Day Game, December 25, 2009, LP Field, Nashville, Tennessee.

Two of the hottest teams in the AFC and in all of the NFL will square off in a special Christmas night showdown on the league’s own NFL Network Friday, when the Tennessee Titans host the San Diego Chargers at LP Field in Nashville.

The Titans continued their improbable turnaround to their season last Sunday with a 27-24 overtime victory over the feisty Miami Dolphins. The Titans blew an 18-point lead in the second half and needed kicker Rob Bironas to bail them out with a 46-yard field goal to end the game in OT.

Nevertheless, the Titans have now won seven of their last eight games after starting the season 0-6, and are back to .500 and right in the thick of the AFC playoff chase.

San Diego and quarterback Philip Rivers continued their perfect record in December with a 27-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on a last-second 52-yard field goal by kicker Nate Kaeding. With the win the Chargers moved their winning streak to nine games and also clinched the AFC West title and a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs as the No. 2 seed.

Because of the fact that the Chargers have already clinched and have nothing left to play for really, oddsmakers have made the Titans 3- point favorites to the surprise of just about everyone who has watched the Chargers play the last two months.

Most of the focus on offense for this game will be on the two young quarterbacks, Rivers and the Titans Vince Young. Rivers has elevated his game this season and has basically carried the Chargers on his back all year, while Young finally got a second chance after Kerry Collins was ineffective to start the year and the Titans haven’t looked back since.

The big difference is that Young has had plenty of help in the form of the NFL’s leading rusher, second-year back Chris Johnson. Johnson had an “off” game last week against the Dolphins, gaining only 104 yards, to notch his ninth game in a row with over 100 yards on the ground. He still needs 270 yards in the final two games of the season to reach 2,000, which is attainable if he can keep going at his current pace (162.6 ypg – 2nd in NFL).

Johnson shouldn’t have too much trouble getting over 100 yards again this week, since the Chargers run defense is ranked 21st in the league allowing 116.9 yards per game.

However, the same situation exists on the other sideline too. Rivers and the Chargers are the league’s 5th-ranked passing attack at 268.9 yards a game, which also sets up a huge mismatch on paper since the Titans pass defense is ranked 31st in a 32-team league allowing 264.5 yards a contest. That is if Chargers coach Norv Turner decides to keep Rivers and his six-guns shooting in this game.

Plus, the Chargers might be able to get their weak running game (86.2 ypg – 30th) going this week, since the Titans lost linebackers Keith Bulluck and David Thornton to season-ending injuries last week against Miami and they’ll likely be replaced by rookie Gerald McRath and second-year man Colin Allred.

The last time these two teams met on the field was in a first round AFC wildcard game in 2008, a game the Chargers won 17-6 by scoring 17 straight second-half points to steal the win. The Chargers also covered the point spread in that game, just barely, as 10.5-point favorites.

In fact, San Diego has owned this “rivalry,” winning the last seven straight games (dating back to 1993) and covering the number in six of those seven games (6-0 ATS in last six).

There aren’t too many other betting trends in this game that are very noteworthy. The Chargers are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games, while the Titans are just 1-8 ATS against teams with winning records.

Filed Under: Cincinnati Bengals , LP Field , Miami Dolphins , Nate Kaeding , Norv Turner , Philip Rivers , San Diego , San Diego Chargers