New England Patriots Are Smallest Favorite In NFL Divisional Playoffs, Chargers A Popular Pick

The New England Patriots aren’t exactly being treated like a team that’s been to three of the last four Super Bowls with the best quarterback and head coach of all time. The defending AFC champions are the smallest favorites in the 2019 NFL divisional playoffs, and plenty of bettors are picking the Los Angeles Chargers in their visit to Gillette Stadium Sunday.

The Patriots are laying four points at home after initially being favored by 4.5 points over the Chargers, though the betting line has dropped to 3.5 points at some sportsbooks, according to OddsShark. The way the point spread has moved at the start of the week, it’s possible the line could fall to a field goal.

According to The Action Network, 64 percent of the early bets are on the Chargers with just 36 percent of the wagers on the Patriots. L.A. had a lot of momentum heading into the postseason, and that’s only picked up after their convincing wild-card victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

A good portion of the public seems to believe the Chargers can win three road games on their way to reaching Super Bowl LIII. Los Angeles is now 8-1 on the road this season. The Chargers are actually unbeaten outside of California since their only road loss came against the Los Angeles Rams.

New England was the only NFL team with a perfect home record in the regular season.

L.A. is considered by many to be the better team. They finished a game ahead of New England in the overall standings with a 12-4 record. The Chargers were relegated to being a wild-card team because the Kansas City Chiefs won the AFC West as the conference’s No.1 seed.

Philip Rivers was considered to be an MVP candidate until the Chargers were beaten in Week 16. Tom Brady hasn’t been in the discussion for the award after winning it a season ago.

The Chargers were three-point road underdogs in Baltimore on Wild-Card Weekend.