Up to NFL Betting Trends

posted October 6, 2007 at 18:23 in NFL Betting Trends

The curious case of the San Diego Chargers continues on Sunday when the beleaguered team travels to Denver to take on the Broncos on the natural turf at Invesco Field in an AFC Western Division game that is scheduled to begin at 4:15 PM (Eastern Time). In the football betting odds at BetUS, Denver is listed at -1.5, with a posted over/under of 42.5 points.

San Diego has a 1-3 record, both SU (straight-up) and ATS (against the spread) and has played three of its four games over the posted total. San Diego is struggling under Norv Turner, the coach who was hired to replace Marty Schottenheimer, and its last game was particularly demoralizing as the Chargers gave up 24 unanswered points in the second half to lose a 30-16 decision to Kansas City as a 12.5-point favorite.

Denver owns a record of 2-2 SU and 0-4 ATS, and like San Diego, has played three overs in its four games. The Broncos had an early lead at Indianapolis this past Sunday but were eventually swallowed up by Peyton Manning's offensive machine and fell to a 38-20 defeat, failing to cover the 10-point spread as an underdog and giving up 419 yards in the process.

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD NFL betting trends:

* Denver has won 14 of its last 20 games SU against San Diego

* Denver has a slight 3-2-3 ATS lead in the last eight meetings

* Four of the last six games in the series have gone under the total

* Denver is 3-1-2 ATS at home in the last six meetings

* Denver has won six of the last seven meetings when playing at home

* Seven of the last ten meetings held in Denver have gone under the total

San Diego is averaging just 17 points a game, a far cry from last season. And LaDanian Tomlinson, who set an all-time NFL record for touchdowns last year, is off to a slow start. He managed to top the 100-mark against the Chiefs, but Tomlinson has rushed for only 262 yards and 3.4 yards a carry. The Chargers are not in the top ten in any major offensive category, and Philip Rivers, who went to the Pro Bowl last year as a first-year starter, has seen his QB rating plummet to 76.0, as he's thrown five TD's and six INT's. Also:

* San Diego has lost six of its last seven games ATS

* San Diego has played over the total in 12 of its last 17 games

* San Diego has gone over the total in seven of its last eight road games

* San Diego is 9-2-1 ATS in its last 12 as a road dog

* In the month of October, San Diego is 1-7 ATS coming off a double-digit ATS loss

Denver has been producing better on offense than the Chargers have; the Broncos are averaging 227 passing yards and 155.5 rushing yards a game. But Denver is not defending opposition running attacks very well, allowing 181 yards a contest on five yards a carry. This will certainly be something the Chargers will try to exploit. Jay Cutler has completed 65% of his throws, but he's tossed five pickoffs. On the positive side, Travis Henry does lead the NFL with 433 rushing yards, demonstrating that Denver can almost always produce a top-flight runner in its backfield. Also:

* Denver has failed to cover its last five games

* Denver has won 16 of its last 22 games at home SU

* However, Denver is just 2-5 SU in its last seven at home

* Denver is just 1-10 ATS as a home favorite

* Denver has played over the total in eight of its last nine games

* Denver's last five home games have gone over the total

* Denver is 1-11 ATS at home against an opponent coming off a double-digit ATS loss

Neither team seems to have much in their favor from the technical angle, but the trends appear to point toward going over the total, which is posted at 42.5 points here at BetUS.

The 2007 NFL betting season is here in full force! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The BetUS sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join BetUS today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLII and beyond!

(Charles Jay of TotalActionExtra.com is a member of the NFL too – which means "not for long" if you don't get results. He is now a regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room)