The NFL playoffs continue on Sunday with a showdown between the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots in the AFC Wild Card round. This projects to be a fairly even matchup, despite the fact that the Patriots are the #2 seed and the Chargers limped their way into the playoffs as the #7 seed in a wide open AFC.
The Pickswise NFL team has been cashing Same Game Parlays left and right throughout the season, so let’s keep the momentum rolling with my SGP for this 8:20 pm ET kickoff on NBC. Also be sure to check out our full Chargers vs Patriots predictions.
Chargers ML (+160)
Rhamondre Stevenson anytime touchdown scorer (+140)
Parlay odds: +675
Part of the value in a Same Game Parlay, of course, is that plays that aren’t correlated end up driving up the overall payout of the parlay. That is the case with backing New England running back Rhamondre Stevenson to score a touchdown, despite taking the Chargers on the money line. But even if he does, there is no reason why the visitors team can’t take care of business. Let’s break down each of the legs.
Chargers ML (+160)
The Patriots are in the midst of one of the more impressive organizational turnarounds that we have seen in recent years, and New England might even have the next MVP of the league at quarterback with Drake Maye commanding this offense under center. However, this is an instance where I’m getting an excellent head coach in Jim Harbaugh, plus the better (and more experienced quarterback) in Justin Herbert as an underdog in a spot where they should be able to generate success on a Patriots defense that has struggled when stepping up in class this season. On the other side of the ball, Los Angeles’ defense is one of the top units in football at limiting explosive plays, and we can expect Jesse Minter’s group to make things hard on Maye in his first postseason start. I’ll take a stab on the Chargers on the money line it what looks to be a one possession game.
Rhamondre Stevenson anytime touchdown scorer (+140)
For the second leg of our parlay, let’s look at Rhamondre Stevenson to find the end zone for the fourth consecutive game. Despite the fact that rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson has shown plenty of potential, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has still shown a pretty clear loyalty to Stevenson as the veteran presence in the backfield, and the workload has indicated as such. Stevenson has particularly come on strong in recent weeks, especially in the red zone, as the more physical running back has seized the majority of the carries from the rookie. With that in mind, I’ll grab this number at plus-money and bank on the veteran tailback to find paydirt for the 5th time over the last 4 weeks.
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