Baltimore Ravens (1-0) at San Diego Chargers (1-0)
The San Diego Chargers already are battered, which is never a good thing in the NFL but especially not heading into a game with probably the most physical team in the league, the Baltimore Ravens.
San Diego is a 3-point favorite on WagerWeb.com.
The Chargers for sure won’t have running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who injured his ankle in Monday’s come-from-behind win against Oakland. The former NFL MVP hadn’t missed a game due to injury until January, when a groin injury kept him out of a playoff loss to the Steelers. But injuries contributed to his career-worst season last year.
That means Darren Sproles, who scored the winning touchdown Monday night, will get a lot more carries. Michael Bennett also will see some action now. Sproles is too small to run right at the Ravens’ defense, so the Bolts will need to get the ball to him out in the open field as well as use multiple personnel groupings to look for mismatches in the passing game.
Also out Sunday for San Diego are center Nick Hardwick (ankle) and defensive end Travis Johnson (groin). Right guard Louis Vasquez (knee) could also be sidelined, along with linebacker Antwan Applewhite (hamstring) and defensive tackle Jamal Williams (elbow). All three are listed as questionable,
Baltimore hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 36 games, the longest streak in the NFL. And that unit held Kansas City to just 29 yards rushing last week. With Tomlinson out, that streak figures to grow. And the Ravens discovered a passing attack last week, as Joe Flacco enjoyed a career day in Week 1 as he threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns (95.8 rating) in the win over the Chiefs. Flacco had 43 pass attempts against the Chiefs; last year he attempted 30 or more only three times. Flacco is now 8-0 when posting a QB rating of 90 or better since joining the league.
The Ravens looked to have one of the worst receiving groups in the league, but Todd Heap, who has struggled to stay healthy, had five catches for 74 yards and a TD in Week 1 – so that’s a very good sign for the Baltimore offense. And second-year back Ray Rice seems established as the No. 1 back following his 108-yard performance in the opener.
So it seems everything favors Baltimore this week, but the Chargers are a very good home team. They say home field is worth three points in the NFL, so thus the 3-point spread on WagerWeb.com. The Chargers are 20-4 at home since 2006.
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