As I was watching the Wild Card round last year, the team
that I least wanted to face in the Divisional Playoffs was Baltimore. I had a
bad feeling about that Raven team, and I turned out to be correct because we
all saw how dangerous the Ravens were with their 38-35 win over Denver. This
year, as I watched the first round last weekend, I was really rooting for Cincy
to beat San Diego. Of course, the Chargers knocked off the Bengals and they are
now headed to Denver for the Divisional Playoff game on Sunday. Once again, the
team that I didn’t want the Broncos to face in this round is staring directly
at them. I have hated this matchup since the moment the Charger-Bengal game
ended on Sunday. This was the worst possible opponent for the Broncos. Here are
the reasons why this game scares me so much….
1)
The Chargers are red-hot, and they have won five games
in a row. Essentially, they won four “playoff” games in a row just to make it
to the playoffs, and last week they dispatched of a team that was 8-0 at home
during the regular season. If you are looking for the “hot” team in the
playoffs, then the Chargers fit that description.
2)
San Diego is playing with no pressure at all. No one
picked them to even make the playoffs this year, and now they find themselves
as one of the last eight teams left in the NFL playoffs. They can play fast and
loose on Sunday, and they don’t have to play tight at all.
3)
The Chargers have the team of destiny/fate going. They
were 5-7 and needed to win out to make the playoffs. They stun the Broncos in
Denver on a Thursday night to get to 7-7. They needed to have Miami lose their
last two games against Buffalo and the Jets. Miami lost both. They needed the
Ravens to lose their last two games at home against the Pats and at Baltimore,
and the Ravens lost both. San Diego needed to beat KC at home in Week 17 to
clinch at that point. The Chiefs decided to rest their starters. Down 24-14 to
the Chiefs backups, the Chargers rallied to tie the game late in the 4th
quarter. KC’s Ryan Succop missed a 41 yard field goal at the end of the game to
give the Chargers a chance. On that kick, the Chargers lined up in an illegal
formation, but the refs never saw it. They should have thrown the flag and KC
should have gotten a shot at a 35 yard FG to win the game. Eventually, the
Chargers won the game in OT to make the playoffs. In the playoffs, they got 4
turnovers from the Bengals in the worst game that Cincy played all year. It
just seems that fate is on the side of the Chargers. Too many crazy things
needed to happen for them to make the playoffs, and now they are in the
Divisional Round. Sometimes you just can’t mess with fate.
4)
Philip Rivers is a very good NFL QB. He got a bad rap
the last two years because he play diminished because the talent around him
diminished. He put up one of his best seasons ever this year. He is a top-level NFL quarterback, and he
can be very dangerous no matter where this game is played. Also, he owns the
Broncos historically. He is 6-2 lifetime in Denver. He stated that Denver is
one of his favorite places to play all time. Bottom line: Rivers scares the
hell out of me when he has the ball.
5) Mike McCoy was the Broncos offensive coordinator last
year with Peyton Manning. He constructed this offense with Peyton. He knows
everything about it and everything about Manning. It showed this year because
San Diego held Denver under 30 points both times they played them. The Broncos
two lowest yardage totals were both against the Chargers. McCoy’s factor is
huge in this game.
6) The Chargers went to Denver a month ago and smacked the
Broncos around. They ran the ball down their throat, converted third downs, and
stifled the Broncos offense. They know they can go into Denver and win, and
that confidence is huge in a game like this. They will be very comfortable in
the atmosphere of Sunday.
7)Divisional opponents meeting in the playoffs is always
tricky. Both teams know each other, so the Chargers will be very prepared for
what the Broncos have to offer.
8)Do you really trust Denver’s defense against a quality
QB like Rivers? I don’t. Losing Von Miller was such a blow to this defense. I
just can’t see how they are going to generate enough pressure to hassle Rivers.
Denver’s defense scares me big time in a game like this.
9)
Denver has all the pressure on them. After losing to
the Ravens in the playoffs last year, the Broncos goal has been to get to the
Super Bowl or this season is a failure. They have everything to lose and the
Chargers don’t. The pressure on Manning and this Broncos team may be too much
for them to handle. They are in the same exact spot they were in a year ago.
These chances don’t come around very often. If the Broncos miss out on this
opportunity, then their window of winning a Super Bowl is almost closed.
Manning doesn’t have a lot of years left in him. They NEED TO WIN THIS GAME!!!
If they come out nervous and tight, they could easily fall behind early to San
Diego, and then who the hell knows what could happen in this game. SD is
playing one of the all-time “House Money” games.
Prediction: San
Diego (+9) over DENVER: As much as this pains me, the Broncos will fall to the
Chargers on Sunday. As I stated before, this game is the worst possible
scenario for Denver. The Chargers just match up really well with the Broncos. I
know it is hard to fathom the Broncos losing in this spot two years in a row,
but I just think that San Diego keeps their ride going for another week. The
Chargers go into Denver and knock off their rival.
Final Score: Chargers-30
Broncos-27
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