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Chargers vs. Giants: Preview, score prediction for Week 5

By Derek Snyder

SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 8: Antonio Gates #85 of the San Diego Chargers catches the ball for a first down against the New York Giants during their game on December 8, 2013 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 8: Antonio Gates #85 of the San Diego Chargers catches the ball for a first down against the New York Giants during their game on December 8, 2013 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Chargers vs. New York Giants

The Los Angeles Chargers and New York Giants will be meeting up this weekend in a battle of two teams that are still searching for their first win of 2017. I’ll admit, I never thought in a thousand years these two teams would be a combined 0-8 through the first four weeks, but here we are.

Regardless of how the season has gone to this point, you’re not going to see any quit between either of these squads on Sunday afternoon. With veteran quarterbacks Eli Manning and Philip Rivers at the helm, both the Giants and Chargers are built to withstand these types of downfalls.

It doesn’t mean either one of these franchises will make the playoffs this season, but it does mean you can expect them to fight as hard as they can until Week 17.

That said, here are the keys to victory for both teams in Week 5.

Chargers Keys to Victory

Get Consistent Pressure on Eli Manning: If there’s been one aspect of the 2017 Chargers game that has been very good, it’s been their ability to get pressure on the quarterback. If you don’t have a chance to watch many Los Angeles football games, then I’ll make it pretty easy on you. The two players that will give the Giants all kinds of trouble on Sunday are Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa.

Ingram has already racked up 5.5 sacks so far this season, while Bosa has added 2.5 more to that total as well. Those eight total sacks between the two are the exact same amount of sacks the entire New York defense has accrued through four weeks.

Run The Football: At some point during this four game losing streak, the Chargers had to have noticed how little they are giving the football to Melvin Gordon each game.The former Wisconsin Badgers running back carried the ball 18 times against Denver, nine times against Miami, 17 times against Kansas City and 10 times against Philadelphia. Its so strange that Ken Whisenhunt is giving Gordon the ball more times against tougher defensivenfronts, than he has against the more average front-sevens.

That said, the Chargers finally have get to play a rush defense that’s almost as bad as theirs. It’s pretty darn simple for this weekend if you ask me: Feed Melvin Gordon.

Giants Keys to Victory

Get the Offense Going Early: Yes, this is definitely a priority for each NFL team every weekend, but the Giants are waiting too late to get going on offense each weekend. To be more specific, New York has only scored a total of 17 points in the first half all season long. That means over the course of eight quarters, the team is only scoring an average of roughly four points before halftime each weekend.

Needless to say, that’s a ton of pressure to put on a defense that’s already struggling to keep opposing offenses off the field in 2017.

Get Wayne Gallman More Involved: One area where the Giants have struggled since beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl, it’s been their running game or lack thereof. New York’s front-office has done a spectacular job of drafting some elite talent at the receiver position, but they have severely swung and missed in the running back department.

That said, I believe they finally had a guy step forward last weekend in New York’s loss to Tampa Bay. Gallman finished the game with 42 rushing yards, eight receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. Needless to say, the rookie has a great matchup against one of the league’s worst run defenses in Week 5. Look for the Giants to feed him the football early and often on Sunday.

Odds

Point Spread: New York -3.5
Moneyline: Los Angeles +145, New York -165
Over/Under: 45

Odds via Sportsbookreview.com

Next: NFL 2017: Picks against the spread for Week 5

Prediction

I strongly believe that the Chargers will get their first victory of the season this weekend in New York. After learning some tough lessons over the past month, rookie head coach Anthony Lynn will have his team ready to take on another struggling squad on Sunday.

Thanks to some specular defensive play from Melvin Ingram, Los Angeles will make life extremely hard on Eli Manning and the New York offense in Week 5.

Pick: Los Angeles Chargers: 24, New York Giants: 14

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