NFL Picks Week 7: San Diego Chargers Will Send New York Jets Stumbling into Bye

Hooray for the New York Jets! They ended a three-game schneid with a 24-6 win over the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football, setting up a visit to MetLife Stadium by the San Diego Chargers.

So, what was that about a winning streak for Gang Green?

The 4-1 Bolts are well rested after enjoying a Week 6 bye, seemingly putting them past the point of their typical early-season malaise. Antonio Gates is expected to return for Philip Rivers' pass-catching pleasure after sitting out San Diego's last three games while dealing with a recurrence of plantar fasciitis.

Not that Phil has necessarily withered away without his Pro Bowl tight end. In the meantime, he's had no problem spreading the ball around to Vincent Jackson, Malcom Floyd, Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert.

Jackson and Floyd figure to have some difficult getting open against Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, the Jets' dynamite cornerback duo, though that won't necessarily deter the Chargers from moving the ball against Rex Ryan's defense. Instead, Norv Turner will tell Rivers to pick on Gang Green's aging and ineffective linebacking corps by dumping the ball off to Mathews and Tolbert out of the backfield and Gates across the middle. The Jets will need to bring pressure early and often if they're to have any chance to stop San Diego's offense.

On the other side of the ball, New York has had about as much success keeping Mark Sanchez upright as, well, Sanchez has had completing passes downfield. What was supposed to be a breakout season for Sanchez has only confirmed the fact, in his third year, he's a so-so NFL signal caller, at best.

To be fair, he hasn't gotten much protection from his banged-up offensive line or his attendant ground game, which, with Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson sharing the load (and the blame), ranks 31st in the NFL in yards per game. The Chargers aren't particularly effective against the run, ranking 17th in the league in that department, but won't need much to stuff Gang Green's ground attack.

The formula is simple, really: Throw eight men in the box and dare Sanchez to throw downfield against the NFL's second-stingiest pass defense.

The real difference in this game could very well come on special teams, where the Jets lead the league in kick return average while the Chargers are the fourth-worst in covering kickoffs and dead last in stuffing punt returns. The bigger the impact Joe McKnight has on this game, the better New York's chances are of pulling out a tough win at home.

If you're looking for defense, then this game should be right up your alley. Look for the Chargers to eke out hard-fought victory to move to 5-1 on the season while sending the Jets back on their downward spiral.