Merry Christmas to all our members and friends. All we wanted for Christmas last night was another winner, and we got it as SMU torched the Nevada Wolfpack 45-10 for our 7th win against the spread in our last 8 games.  Today we will be giving our members the spread winner of the Titans and the Chargers. Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Titans as 3-point home favorites with a total of 47.

Tennessee is attempting to be the first team ever to start 0-6 and finish at least .500. Only five teams have ever begun a season 0-5 and ended with a record of .500 or better.

The Chargers, on the other hand, also looked suspect at the beginning of the season going just 2-3 in their first 5 outings.  But now San Diego is firing on all cylinders and has won nine straight. The Chargers are one victory away from locking up the second seed in the AFC playoffs. After beating Cincinnati last week, the Chargers are now 17-0 in December since 2006.

Tennessee’s found their groove with the 1-2 punch of Vince Young and Chris Johnson.  Johnson has been the most explosive player the NFL has seen in recent history and is the league’s leading rusher amassing at least 100 yards rushing in nine consecutive games, including 11 TDs. The Titans are now 5-3 against the spread in their last 8, but have failed to cover the spread in their last two games. Tennessee was up 24-6 on Miami until the Dolphins rallied to force overtime.  The Titans won 27-24 in OT, but the Dolphins cashed as 4.5-point road dogs.

These two teams met twice in 2007.  The first meeting was December 9, 2007 in Nashville. The Chargers beat the Titans, 23-17, covering as 1.5-point road favorites. The Titans then traveled to QualCom for a first-round playoff game. San Diego won 17-6 and covered the spread as 10.5-point home favorites.

Accoring to SportsBook.com, San Diego has seen 79% of the betting public back them today, but the Chargers have already clinched the AFC West, while Tennessee has to win out and get help from other teams for the final Wild Card spot.  The question is will San Diego rest some starters if Tennessee gets up on them early? We think we have the answer to that question.  

So who covers the spread in this Christmas night AFC matchup?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com tonight for just ($19.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com

Well…it couldn’t last forever. After a 14-1 against the spread run in our last 15, we got the crap kicked out of us going 0-2 against the spread yesterday in the NFL. We take losses personally around here, so I can promise you that we are focused on Monday Night Football. Tonight the Broncos (5-0 straight up, 5-0 against the spread) travel down to play San Diego (2-2 straight up, 1-3 against the spread) in an AFC West clash. Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Chargers as 3.5-point home favorites with a total of 44.

During the Phillip Rivers era, the Chargers have been a favorite to win the AFC almost every year. But another slow start has made most touters questioning their game.  The Bolts are giving up an average of 365 yards per game, including 151 YPG on the ground.  In addition, opponents are averaging 20-plus points a game, twice allowing 30-plus.  Luckily for the Chargers, the Broncos don’t have a great offense (19.8 PPG, 376 YPG), but they do have the league’s best defense (8.6 PPG, 252 YPG).  The Broncos defense held Cincinnati to 7, Dallas to 10 and New England to 17, but they will face a balanced offensive attack tonight as the Chargers are averaging 25.3 PPG and 349 YPG. Quarterback Philip Rivers has passed for 1,245 yards and 6 TDs this year and Sproles and Tomlinson will be very tough to defend.

The Broncos have lost five of their last six games against San Diego. Their only win was Week 2 last season when Ed Hochuli’s blew that last minute call in the end zone and the Broncos won 39-38 in mile high stadium. During this six-game stretch, San Diego has posted scoring totals of 52, 38, 23, 41, 48 and 35 for an average of 39.5 PPG.

A lot has happened since last year as the Broncos fired head coach Mike Shanahan and traded All-Pro quarterback Jay Cutler to Chicago. Their two replacements, Josh McDaniels and Kyle Orton, have given the Mile High City some hope. Orton has passed for 1,236 yards and 7 touchdowns on the season. He has thrown only 1 INT this year and it came on a hail-mary attempt in the first half of last week’s 20-17 overtime victory against the Patriots.

So who covers the spread in tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup?  It’s very easy to find out.  Try FiveStarPick.com tonight for just ($19.99) and see if our talent for picking college and pro football winners exceeds your expectations.  We are the only sports handicapping service in the business who documents wins and losses and displays them on our homepage for all to witness.  It’s because we have nothing to hide…we just win games against the spread.  Join our family today and start your winning streak tonight.

Rick Riley – FiveStarPick.com