Chargers have an explosive offense this season, but not a consistent one. They are 18th on 3rd down %, while the Patriots are 3rd. The patriots hae also played the two best defenses in the NFL, while the Chargers haven't played a team that will finish above .500 this year (nor a really good defense). How many 3 and outs did the Chargers have against Oak and Stl? The patriots will win this game because SD can't convert on third downs. The Chargers are much worse on defense than the ever-improving Pats defense. Don't kid yourself into thinking the chargers would win a zero turnover game without any big special teams plays on either side.
you do realize that the pats are the worst in the league in stops on 3rd down ...right ? until that last 3 drives of the 4th quarter and overtime our 3rd down defense was nowhere to be found and this isnt flacco .So chargers may have struggled on 3rd down but they will be better against our D for sure...
Regarding STL, they are much better outfit than people think. People are going on last yr's record but this is a different team and they were playing at home in front of their crowd which was a big advantage especially in disrupting the chargers o-line. Chargers wont have any such issues at home IMO.