New Orleans heads for its bye week with more motivation than any other NFL team and the Week 5 NFL point spread reflects this reality.
The Saints need this Sunday night win against San Diego badly and historically, they have been money in the bank in the week befofe their bye.
They are 7-1-1 ATS the past nine seasons at sportsbooks in Vegas and around the world.
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New Orleans came close to winning its first game in a hard-fought battle against the Green Bay Packers last week, but fell 28-27 when Garrett Hartley missed a 48-yard field goal that would have put the Saints ahead near the end of the game.
Drew Brees threw for 446 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. It was the first time that the Saints covered the spread this season, but they fell to 0-4 SU.
The San Diego Chargers have taken advantage of their weak schedule to open the season. Off to a 3-1 SU and ATS start, the Chargers were blown out by Atlanta 27-3 in Week 3, but have put together convincing wins against Oakland, Tennessee, and Kansas City; all teams off to 1-3 SU starts.
With such a bad game against an elite opponent and three strong games against weak opponents, it is hard to gauge just how good the Chargers really are; and this week's game against the Saints may not clear things up, either.
Drew Brees will be going for an NFL record 48 straight games with at least one touchdown pass this Sunday. Will this be enough to finally get New Orleans its first win of the season? With the entire football world watching in prime time Sunday night, will Brees be able to break the record in a meaningful way with a win in front of his home crowd?
Bookmakers and bettors seem to think so, as it isn't often that you see an 0-4 SU and 1-3 ATS team favored over a 3-1 SU and ATS team. New Orleans showed signs of life last week against Green Bay, and this losing streak has to come to an end sooner or later; it might as well be this week against the un-tested Chargers.
PICK: New Orleans -3.5