The New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers will both be looking to bounce back from their respective preseason-opening losses last weekend when they square off in their Week 2 preseason matchup at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday. With both Super Bowl 54 hopefuls looking like legitimate contenders in their respective conferences after reaching the postseason a year ago, let’s find out where the best betting value lies in this intriguing contest.
Saints vs Chargers 2019 NFL Preseason Week 2 Lines, Game Info & Prediction
- When: Sunday August 18, 2019, 4:00 PM ET
- Where: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, CA
- TV: CBS
- Radio: New Orleans / Los Angeles
- Live Stream: NFL Network
- NFL Preseason Week 2 Odds: LA Chargers -2.5 / Total: 43.5
Why Bet On New Orleans at +2.5?
The Saints were on the wrong end of a humbling 34-25 loss to Minnesota in Week 1, but they got a solid performance out of veteran backup Teddy Bridgewater who completed 14 of 19 passes for 134 yards with one touchdown toss while third-string signal-caller Taysom Hill went 8 of 14 for 80 yards with a touchdown and an interception while also leading the Saints in rushing with 45 yards on six carries. Defensively, J.T. Gray led the Saints with four tackles, but New Orleans gave up a whopping 460 yards of total offense to Minnesota in the loss.
Why Bet On The LA Chargers at -2.5?
The Chargers suffered a narrow 17-13 loss to Arizona last weekend even though veteran backup Tyrod Taylor went a perfect 6 of 6 for 72 yards and third-stringer Easton Stick went 7 of 11 for 78 yards with one interception. Stick also led the Bolts in rushing with 51 yards on the ground and a touchdown.
“I thought the offense was really efficient with Tyrod,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. “He is a luxury to have on this football team. He is a starter in this league so it didn’t surprise me at all for him to move the ball down the field.”
Defensively, Nick Dzubnar led the Chargers with 5 tackles while Isaac Rochell and Chris Peace each had one sack in the loss.
Saints vs Chargers NFL Preseason Week 2 Betting Trends
- Saints are 0-6 ATS in the last 6 games
- Saints are 14-4 SU in the last 18 games
- The total went UNDER in 7 of the Saints’ last 10 games
- Chargers are 3-7 ATS in the last 10 games played in August
- Chargers are 12-4 SU in the last 16 games
- The total went UNDER in 4 of the Chargers’ last 5 games
Expert Analysis and Prediction for Saints vs Chargers
While I’m expecting New Orleans to reach the NFC Championship game at the very least in 2019, I’m going to back the Los Angeles Chargers in this contest because of the fact that they have the superior defense in this contest and the fact that they’re playing at home.
New Orleans is 20-7 ATS in their last 27 road games, but just 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games overall. Conversely, while Los Angeles has gone 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games, the Saints are also 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings against the Chargers.
When this game turns to the backups, I like Tyrod Taylor to hold his own against Teddy Bridgewater, not to mention the fact that Saints’ head coach Sean Payton has gone a modest 26-29 in the preseason in his career and an uninspiring 6-7 in Week 2 scrimmage games. I’m going with the Bolts minus the points, to hold it down at home in this week 2 preseason showdown.
Pick: LA Chargers 27 New Orleans 24
