NFL Odds: Chargers @ Chiefs

The San Diego Chargers face off against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. on Monday, September 13 2010. Game time is 10:15 PM ET. This is the second of two Monday Night matchups rounding out Week 1 of the season, the NFL odds show the Chargers -4 ½ over the Chiefs with a total set of 45 points. If you are going to wager on this game, then be sure to do it at BetUS where our readers can earn up to a $500 match bonus on their initial deposits.
There were a lot of questions surrounding the Charger’s camp after the release of running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who rushed for 12,490 yards and 138 touchdowns in nine seasons with San Diego.

Fans and foes alike will keep a close eye on QB Philip Rivers as well as heralded Tomlinson replacement, rookie RB Ryan Mathews, who is expected to lift the Chargers to its fifth straight AFC title.

San Diego finished the 2009 season 13-3 with the second-best record in the AFC, but made an early playoff exit after being upset by the Jets 17-14 in the divisional round.
Now the new-look offense will look to quell suspicions by notching an early divisional win against the Kansas City Chiefs, a team it had little trouble scoring against last season winning five straight meetings.

Rivers has been larger than life and a key component to an offense that led the AFC with 28.4 points per game, throwing for a career-best 4,254 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2009, but will begin the year without one of his top targets in unsigned wide receiver Vincent Jackson.
The sixth-year man out of Northern Colorado was the team leader with 1,167 receiving yards and nine touchdowns last year but has been suspended by the NFL for the first three games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

So Mathews will likely be the go-to guy as he gets his first start against a KC defense that was ranked 31st against the run last season, allowing an average of 156.5 yards.
Those defensive stats plunged the Chiefs to 4-12 finish last year with the help of an anemic offense that averaged just over 26 points per game — fourth-worst in the NFL.
A lot will be riding on QB Matt Cassel’s ability to step up and lead the team, something that head coach Norv Turner says he’s made mass improvements with.

Cassel has the skills, passing for just shy of 3,000 yards with 16 touchdowns in his first year in Kansas City. He will need to improve his INT ratio, having thrown 16 picks a year ago including four interceptions in the two games against the Chargers. As a result, he will want to keep the ball away from San Diego’ s Antonio Cromartie and Quentin Jammer come Monday night.
One way of doing that is by giving the Charger’s run stoppers- that ranked 20^th in 2009–a healthy dose of running back Jamaal Charles, who rushed for 1,120 yards in 10 starts, and averaged of 5.9 yards per carry, tying him with the Cowboys’ Felix Jones for the best in the NFL. In his only start against the Chargers last season, Charles rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries in a 43-14 loss in November ’09.

Matt’s Free Prediction: San Diego Chargers -4 ½ – The Chargers should win this one handily against a Chiefs team they outscored 80-21 in winning both meetings last season. Kansas City should improve this year but will have to wait at least another seven days for their first win when they play the Browns in Week 2.