Jacksonville at San Diego Free Pick & Betting Lines

Could Sunday be the final home opener in San Diego for the Chargers? If a Nov. 8 vote on a tax hike to finance a new stadium for the team fails, then the Chargers could be in Los Angeles next year. They host Jacksonville on Sunday in matchup of 0-1 teams. The Bolts are slight favorites in online NFL betting.

Here’s a Closer Look at the Jacksonville at San Diego Free Pick, Betting Lines & TV Info

Thursday’s #Jaguars injury report. pic.twitter.com/q7Q1GOXy1s

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 15, 2016

When: Sunday, Sept. 18, 4:25 PM ET Where: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego TV: CBS Stream: NFL.com Radio: Jacksonville / San Diego Opening NFL Lines: Chargers -3 (47)

Why Bet on Jacksonville?

The Jags played well in Week 1 but lost 27-23 at home to a very good Green Bay team. The Jaguars mounted a late drive that came up short on a fourth-and- 1 play at the Packers 14. The Jaguars had converted their previous three fourth-down plays, but Allen Hurns failed to move the sticks on a bubble screen. Blake Bortles finished 24 of 39 for 320 yards with a TD and a pick. The Jaguars pride themselves on stopping the run, and they held Packers running back Eddie Lacy to 61 yards on 14 carries with one rush for 28 yards. Offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum played 68 snaps against Green Bay after tearing his ACL in October last season. Also, defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. had three tackles in his return for Jacksonville after missing all of last season. The Jags played the opener without co-No. 1 tailback Chris Ivory as he was hospitalized with some sort of illness. Ivory returned to the team Wednesday after spending more than 48 hours in the hospital earlier this week. He is extremely unlikely to play on Sunday, leaving T.J. Yeldon as the clear starter against the Chargers. Yeldon rushed for 39 yards on 21 carries in the opener. The Jaguars must run more effectively against San Diego as their 1.8 yards-per- carry average from the opener won’t win games. The Jaguars have struggled against San Diego in recent seasons and also have struggled on the West Coast overall. They have lost their last five meetings with the Chargers and haven’t won on the West Coast since beating Oakland in 2004. That’s a span of seven games.

Why Bet on San Diego?

No team had a worse Week 1 than the Bolts. They blew a 21-point lead and lost 33-27 in overtime in Kansas City and lost top receiver Keenan Allen to a season-ending torn ACL. Philip Rivers threw for 243 yards and a touchdown, and Melvin Gordon scored the first two TDs of his career. But the Chargers were unable to keep any drives going in the fourth quarter. The collapse came after Allen left in the second quarter. He already had six catches for 63 yards. Allen also finished last season on the injured reserve list after suffering a lacerated kidney in a Week 8 contest against the Baltimore Ravens. The Chargers will look to receivers already on the roster like Travis Benjamin, Dontrelle Inman and Tyrell Williams to help replace the production lost by Allen’s absence. or now, Inman will step in as the starter at receiver alongside Benjamin for this Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That makes sense, considering that Inman has the most experience in San Diego’s offensive scheme, having been with the organization for three seasons. Inman emerged as a reliable target, finishing with 35 catches for 486 yards and three touchdowns in 2015. Rivers has killed the Jags in the past three meetings. Though the Jaguars sacked him four times (twice in 2015 and 2014), Rivers still managed to complete 74 percent of his passes for 962 yards and eight touchdowns with no interceptions in those three games. The Chargers won all three games by an average of 14.3 points. He’s 5-1 and has completed 72.1 percent of his passes for 1,899 yards and 15 touchdowns with only four interceptions overall vs. Jacksonville. Joey Bosa’s roster exemption has been lifted, but it’s unclear whether the third overall pick will make his Chargers debut as he returns from a slight hamstring injury. San Diego and Jacksonville have met eight times in the past with the Bolts owning a 6-2 record.

My Free Pick

Over is 6-1- 1 in the last 8 meetings. Favorite is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings. Jaguars are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 meetings. Jags end their five-game skid in the series and go over in NFL betting.