1. Take the over
Including last week’s 38-24 win over the Dolphins, the Patriots have scored 30 or more points in nine consecutive games.
San Diego’s no offensive slouch, either. So look for both offenses to run up the score as two of the league’s best quarterbacks — with plenty of weapons — go at each other.
You already know what Brady can do, but Rivers can match him yard-for-yard and point-for-point with the likes of Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates and two solid backs.
2. No-show Cinco?
So far, the critics have been right about Chad Ochocinco. He certainly didn’t live up to the hype in Week 1, playing only about a quarter of the offensive snaps in Miami.
On top of that, Patriots demigod Tedy Bruschi called Ochocinco out this week, telling him to stop acting like a fan and get on the same page as the rest of the offense.
How will the receiver respond? He’s mentioned he’s not completely comfortable out there; Pats fans can only hope he’s getting closer to it.
3. Home sweet home
The last big game played in Foxborough was a playoff loss to the Jets. Aside from that, the Pats were undefeated at Gillette Stadium last year.
In fact, New England has gone unbeaten at home in five of the last seven seasons.
And if that’s not intimidating enough for the Chargers, they need to get ready for 70,000-odd “lubed up” fans.
The Cold, Hard Football Facts
A look at Sunday’s Patriots-San Diego showdown, through the eyes of the football stat experts at
San Diego QB Philip Rivers’ career numbers compare favorably — in some cases — to Tom Brady’s:
Brady: 63.6% completions, 7.41 yards per attempt, 2.55-1 TD-INT ratio, 95.5 QB rating
Rivers: 63.8%, 7.99 ypa, 2.30-1 TD-INT ratio, 96.9 QB rating
FFchamps.com
Vincent Jackson had a down Week 1, but expect him to bounce back against a Patriots ‘D’ that let Brandon Marshall run wild.
