New England Patriots
New England’s attack has been suffering a lot from injuries, having lost at least four starting players. So far, WRs Juju Smith-Schuster and Kendrick Bourne, plus OGs Cole Stange and Mike Onwenu. They won’t return for this game and the blocks with the reserves haven’t been the best. As for the receivers, they have good performances from Demario Douglas and Devante Parker, but they need the running game to fit better in order to be better.
The defense is interesting and has the return of CB JC Jackson who was traded by the Los Angeles Chargers back to New England and should form an excellent trio with Jonathan Jones and Myles Bryant in this secondary. Pressure on opposing QBs must also be a standard for this defense that needs to return for them to be competitive.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers’ attack is very interesting with QB Justin Herbert having several targets in the WR position such as Mike Williams, Quentin Johnston, Keenan Allen and also in the ground game with Austin Ekeler and Joshua Kelley. The offensive line was under a lot of pressure in the last game, but their QB adapted to this by getting shorter passes and using the tight ends well in the middle of the field.
The defense has been very bad throughout the season and was perhaps the worst performance by a defense so far overall. The offense has been able to do what they want with this unit and they need a major improvement to continue to be competitive in a league as offensive as the NFL.
Conclusion
This week the Chargers should be able to resolve all of their frustrations from this season. Because of this, every important player on the Los Angeles team has a chance for a big game. However, with Keenan Allen limited in practice all week, RB Austin Ekeler should be the player with the most production this week. Last week, he racked up just 64 total yards, while the Baltimore Ravens held him to 3.2 yards per carry and 6.4 yards per reception.
With the season on the line, the Chargers will need to involve yet another of their top offensive weapons in a favorable matchup, despite the Patriots’ defensive numbers. I really like the Chargers RB’s over-landing and receiving yards and I’ll go here as the best bet in the match.