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The Jacksonville Jaguars are visiting the San Diego Chargers this week, and Vegas is betting that their West Coast trip leaves them flat on Sunday afternoon.
According to OddsShark.com, the Jaguars have opened as massive underdogs, with the Chargers favored by as much as 14.5 points. The next-highest margin of predicted victory belongs to the Indianapolis Colts, who are favored by 9 points over the Tennessee Titans.
The 14.5-point margin is strange, because Ryan O'Halloran of the Florida Times-Union reported shortly after the team's 44-17 loss to the Colts that the Jaguars were only 13-point underdogs. Did the line go up with the announcement that Blake Bortles would be the starting quarterback? Or did it go up with Monday's injury news about Marqise Lee and Chris Prosinski being ruled out?
#Jaguars installed as a 13-point underdog next Sunday at San Diego.
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) September 22, 2014
Whatever the reason, West Coast trips have never been kind to the Jaguars. In the last four years, the Jaguars are 0-6 in the Pacific Time Zone, losing to the Oakland Raiders twice, Seattle Seahawks twice, San Diego Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers.
The over/under is also interesting, with OddsShark putting it at 44.5 points.
That means that if everything goes perfectly with OddsShark's predictions, the Jaguars will lose somewhere in the range of 29-15, which doesn't sound all that improbable. The Chargers are averaging 23 offensive points per game and the Jaguars are averaging just under 15.