The New England Patriots (11-5) and the Los Angeles Chargers (13-4) will lock horns in the AFC Divisional Round in Foxboro, Massachusetts at the fabled Gillette Stadium. The kick-off is scheduled for 1:05 PM ET and will be aired on CBS. Presently, New England enters into this affair riding a four-game winning streak against the Chargers. The two teams last met in October of 2017 on this very field in a primetime game where the Pats defeated the Bolts 21-13 as a 6.5-point favorite. The Patriots are 4-0 ATS over their four-game winning streak against the Chargers.
Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots Overview
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers come in off an impressive 23-17 victory over the AFC North Champions, the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wildcard Round last week. Los Angeles closed as a three-point underdog with over 60% of takers leaning on them as a public dog heading into the clash. Nevertheless, the Chargers controlled the game from start to finish and never trailed.
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New England Patriots
The Patriots enter in off a bye as the 2018 AFC East Divisional Champion and 2017 AFC Champion. The last time New England took the field, it was two weeks ago when they hosted their arch rival, the New York Jets and crushed them by a score of 38-3 to cover easily as a 14.5-point favorite.
Reasons To Avoid Los Angeles
The element of home field advantage is working against the Bolts significantly here. First off, the Patriots are known as a tough team to beat in their own yard, especially in the playoffs. The Patriots have gone 8-0 SU at home this season, and it doesn’t help that temperatures will be below freezing at kick-off as the Chargers are used to playing in more pleasant conditions in Southern California. This also can be a huge factor in deciding the contest. Lastly, we see the public gravitating toward the Chargers again for the second straight week as 61% of the consensus like the points here. It is hard to imagine a repeat of what happened last week with lines being extra sharp in the playoffs.
Reasons To Back New England
New England’s post-season history speaks for itself. The Patriots have one of the greatest coaching minds at the helm along with arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history under center. The duo of Brady and Belichick are hard to bet against on any day but when you factor in that we could be taking them back at a reduced price, this in itself warrants a punt on the Patriots.
- Get more details: Los Angeles at New England NFL Match-up
- Get live odds: Chargers at Patriots NFL Betting Odds