Preview: Chargers vs Jets In AFC Divisional Game

Sunday is quickly approaching and I have had so many thoughts about this weekend and so many are mixed...so, in what makes my blog infamous, here is my jumbled, disjointed and grammatically incorrect playoff preview post...

I want to start out by saying that I think I should be going into this game confident the Chargers are going to win...and handedly. But I am an old time Charger fan...anytime the Chargers should or are suppose to win in the playoffs they don't. For as long as I can remember, and as recent as last year, the Chargers have been a team that has performed better in the playoffs as the underdog. The '94 playoffs when the Chargers beat the Steelers in the AFC Championship was one of the greatest upsets in Charger history. The NFL playoffs are also a whole different beast then the regular season. Any team that thinks they are unbeatable just because they breezed through the regular season will have a quick exit in the playoffs. The Chargers are the "flashy" pick by much of the national media...yet another moniker that often destines teams to a short playoff run.

Regardless of my pessimism, I still do think the Chargers should win this game and I will try and detail a few things I think will be a factor as to whether or not the Chargers will be successful against the Jets or not...

Strength vs Strength: The Jets have one of the best passing defenses in the league and the Chargers have one of the best passing offenses in the league. If the Chargers have made their bread and butter all season with the passing game and the Jets have made theirs with a stiff defense and a solid run game. The Chargers will need to be able to pass on the Jets and score points, if the Chargers are behind by even a score or two the Jets would likely try and do what the Steelers did to the Chargers last year in the playoffs...hold the ball for an entire quarter. Doesn't matter how good your offense is if it isn't on the field...ever.

Special Teams: The Chargers special teams game, in all facets, has been extremely solid. This needs to remain solid. In the playoff loss to the Patriots in '06 a muffed punt was a huge momentum changer that helped the Patriots. Kaeding, who has been a very solid kicker throughout his entire career...including in 2004 but he then went on to miss a 40 yard field goal in a playoff game against (ironically) the Jets, that would have won the game in overtime. Kaeding, since has kicked game winners but for some reason that game continues to be burned into my mind...maybe because it was a playoff game...but at the same time, he could redeem himself with a strong outing this Sunday.

Charger Defense: The other factor in this game that very well may determine if the Chargers win or not is the Charger defense. The Charger defense has looked much better towards the latter half of the season. The Jets defense can shut down the Charger offense all day long, but if the Charger defense is equal to the task on the other side of the ball, then the advantage would certainly be for the Chargers.

The Obvious Factors: Finally there are the obvious factors that come into play in every game that certainly may effect the outcome, like turnovers and penalties. You look at the Arizona-Green Bay game and that game ended on a turnover score by a defense that had been abused all night...one big play at the right time and it could be a game changer.

So saying all that, I think the Chargers should easily dominate this game but with it being a playoff game I think it might be closer than I would expect ... so I'm going to say Chargers win 28-23....and I hope my next Charger post is not about how everything went wrong because once you've been hit with a hugely disappointing playoff loss they are tough to shake off ...