The New York Jets Will Defeat the San Diego Chargers

Yay, this series is back. Everyone likes this series because when I write it, and actually believe that the Chargers will lose, they win. This may be a new phenomenon for you, the reader, but it's old hat for me. You see, as it pertains to sports, there is what is referred to as "The Gennaro Curse".

The Gennaro Curse, in its simplest form, makes it so that any statement uttered by a male member of my family about a sporting event or team or player is made to look foolish. This would be an excellent power to have, except that it only works when we actually believe what we're saying. A good example of this is my uncle stating that Kirby Puckett would never be a good baseball player. Another would be my stating that the Chargers could not lose against the Bengals before last season's game.

Luckily for you fans, I honestly believe the Bolts will return to San Diego losers on Sunday night. I'm just not sure if letting you in on the long-lived curse changes the effects of my belief. And, yes, I am a littler superstitious.

After the break, I tell you exactly why I think the Jets will have the Chargers' number on Sunday.

Turnovers
The Jets create a lot of them. The Chargers do not. Through 5 games, the Chargers defense has created just 5 turnovers. Through 6 games, the Jets defense has created 14 turnovers. So, even though New York's offense has turned the ball over more than the Chargers, they still have a +3 turnover margin compared to a -5 turnover margin for San Diego.

The Jets have won the turnover battle in 4 of their 6 games, losing it only to the Patriots (who turned it over once) and the Raiders (who didn't turn it over at all). The Chargers have won the turnover battle once in 5 games, so hoping for that type of efficiency from them may be futile.

Home Field Advantage
The Jets may be 3-3 this season, compared to 4-1 for the Chargers, but they are 3-0 in New Jersey (where this game will be played). The Chargers are an unimpressive 1-1 on the road this year.

Travel/Time
The San Diego Chargers do not typically play well when they travel from the west coast to play on the east coast. One of the big reasons for that is that they're typically playing at 10am PT on the east coast (as they will be on Sunday), a whole three hours earlier than their jet-lagged bodies will be used to being up and ready to play.

Philip Rivers
This seems absurd but, if there's anything Rex Ryan is good at, it's taking away one aspect of opposing offenses. Ryan will most likely be working to try and stop Ryan Mathews and the San Diego ground game first, and seeing if Rivers continues to turn the ball over when he's pressured.