Niners try to keep it going vs. Chargers

The San Diego Chargers bounced back in a big way after a shocking loss to the Raiders last week with a tremendous defensive effort in a 31-0 shutout of the Kansas City Chiefs. San Diego now finds themselves just 1 game back of the Chiefs for the AFC West title. Winning the West seems as though it will be the only sure way for the Chargers to get into the playoffs as they are a full 2 games behind both the Jets and Ravens for a wild-card spot. There is no doubt that the Chargers will be focused from here on in, but they’d better not give this San Francisco 49ers team any slack.

Their season has been a total disaster, but the Niners are still fighting hard. Football experts made NFL predictions that saw San Francisco winning between 9-11 games this season, and perhaps creating some noise in the playoffs. Those dreams went out the window quickly as the Niners came out of the blocks with a 0-5 start. Though it has gone unnoticed, Frisco has put together a descent little run over their last 8 games as they have gone 5-3 over that stretch. A 40 point outburst against the Seahawks may be what this team needed to finish the year strong, and get them feeling good about the 2011 year.

They have plenty of weapons offensively. Alex Smith looked sensational last week, yet we all know that he has grossly underachieved since being selected with the first pick in the draft back in 2005. Smith will never be the type of quarterback that San Fran thought he would be, but the potential to lead a team is certainly there. He has a much improved cast at the wide receiver position, that will only get better with experience. Vernon Davis is having an “off” year, but is clearly one of the best tight ends in the league. Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan have tons of potential and will be difference makers in the years to come.

A 40 point game is extremely impressive, but they may need to exceed that number on Thursday as they take on a San Diego offense that is nothing short of dynamic! Before their meltdown against Oakland, Philip Rivers was on a pace to make a run at Dan Marino’s single season passing record. Now that that seems out of reach, Rivers and the offense can utilize their running game the way they should.

Personally, I feel that San Diego hasn’t taken advantage of the talent they have in the backfield. Mike Tolbert has done a phenomenal job taking over for the highly touted Ryan Mathews. The one player that isn’t used nearly enough is Darren Sproles. Sproles is a sparkplug that can ignite this offense in several different ways. He is a great kickoff and punt returner, and can make big plays with short passes. His shifty style of running should be taken advantage of more, but this team has so much talent that he seems to get lost in the shuffle sometimes.

The total for this game suggests that the oddsmakers are expecting some scoring. San Diego has the number one rated defense in terms of yards allowed in the entire NFL, and San Fran has a run stop unit that is 9th in the league, yet the sportsbooks have this over/under set at 45 points. Tune in Thursday night as the Niners fight hard to gain momentum heading into next season, while the Chargers try to stay within striking distance of the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West.

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3. 2010 NFL Predictions: San Diego Chargers
4. Broncos & Chargers set to Air-it-Out Monday Night
5. Chargers and Patriots in battle of Top Offenses

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