For the moment, the wild, wild AFC West belongs to LaDainian Tomlinson and the Chargers. Tomlinson rushed for a franchise-record 220 yards and three touchdowns, and Steve Christie's 27-yard field goal with 3:01 left in overtime gave the Chargers a come from behind 30-27 win over the Broncos on Sunday.

San Diego has compiled an 8-4 record while playing a pretty tough schedule.  Nine of the Charges games have been against opponents with a record better than .500.  During those nine games the Charges have beaten Oakland in Oakland, Denver and San Francisco.  The Charges have been a bettor’s dream 8-4 against the spread and 4-2 at home against the spread.

To stay atop the AFC West San Diego will have to beat the Raiders at home this weekend.  The Raiders also sport an 8-4 record.  That record includes the 4 game mid season losing streak.  In their last 6 trips to San Diego the Raiders are 4-2 against the spread.  The Raiders will be coming in 3 point favorites against a San Diego defense that has allow the third most yards through the air at 259.3 per game.  This could be trouble for the Charges as the Raiders are second highest scoring team in the league at 29.5 points per game and lead the league in passing with 310.6 yards per game.

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In another game with both AFC West and AFC east the Broncos will be traveling to Giants stadium to play the Jets.  At 6-6 the Jets are still mathematically in contention for a playoff spot.  The J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS JETS, could vastly improve their chances with a win over the Broncos this weekend.  They come into the game a 1.5 point dog.  Against the spread the Jets are 4-0-1 in their last 5 games.  Denver sports the best run defense in the league allowing only 85.8 yards per game.  That will put a lot of pressure on Chad Pennington who is second in the AFC quarterback rating, but will that be good enough to lead the Jets past Denver?

Denver comes into the game also looking for a playoff spot.  The Broncos probably need to win at least three of four to have a shot. They aren't in good shape in the division tiebreakers, meaning an AFC West title is unlikely, and they have a weak conference record as well. This week's game at the Jets will tell us a lot about their chances -- a win there and things start looking up.

In their last 7 games Denver has been an awful 2-4-1 against the spread.  On the positive side the Broncos are 4-1-1 in their last 6 against the Jets.  Even more positive is when the Broncos are favored by .5 point to 3 points they are 5-1 against the spread in their last 6 games.

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The only one that has a ticket to the national title game in Tempe Arizona is Ohio State.  For Miami to get there they have to get by Number 18 Virginia Tech.  Top-ranked Miami will take a 33-game winning streak into Saturday's game at the Orange Bowl.  Miami (11-0, 6-0) left nothing to chance in a 49-7 win over Syracuse last week and would love nothing better than to do the same thing against the Hokies, who snapped a three-game losing streak with a 21-9 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday.  Miami has won the last two meetings including a 41-21 win in the Orange Bowl in 2000, but have been 2-5 against the spread in their last 7 meetings.

Saturday's game at one point looked like it could be a de facto national title game. The Hokies (9-3, 3-3) won their first eight games and appeared to be a serious Fiesta Bowl candidate, but losses to Pittsburgh, Syracuse and West Virginia changed that.  Virginia Tech regained its stride last week against Virginia as Lee Suggs ran for 108 yards and a touchdown. Suggs and Kevin Jones have combined for 2,035 rushing yards.

If the Hokies are to have a chance on Saturday, they will need a mistake-free game from quarterback Bryan Randall, who threw a key interception in a loss to West Virginia.  The Hokies also will need another big game on special teams.

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Good luck everyone,

Nick Rizzo