Chargers at Patriots

The L.A. Chargers take the long trip to the cold northeast to take on the rebounding Patriots. New England has seemingly come out of nowhere to not only take their division but show up as a legit Super Bowl contender. How did they do it? Mostly through an efficient pass attack.

One measure of pass efficiency is Incomplete Passes. A team that throws few imcompletes is moving the ball, either by catching passes or rushes. They aren't wasting pass attempts and probably not having to play catch up. It's thus associated with winning. Patriots lead the league with fewest Incomplete Passes with only 8.5 per game.

Completing passes also relates to a strong yards per pass attempt figure and Patriots rank high (2nd in the league) on this stat too. Chargers come in just below league average at 19th. Advantage Pats. See Killer Stat, Offense.

Pass defense is a strong point for the Chargers, ranking 8th. They'll need a great game to slow down New England. Patriots are about league average at rank 14. See both teams on the defensive side of our Killer Stat, (Opponent Yards per Pass attempt) chart: Killer Stat, Defense.

Our computer favors the Patriots by 7.5 points after getting 3 for the home field. Patriots look like the real deal to me and look like solid favorites here.

Bill Sanders for BudGoodeSports.com
dr.bill@wrsanders.com

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