NFL playoff predictions: Can the Chargers continue their run?

The San Diego Chargers were the surprise team of the wild-card round in the NFL playoffs over the weekend, the seven-point underdogs pulling away from the Bengals at Cincinnati to move on to the divisional round.

The question is, can the Chargers, winners of their last five games, continue that streak Sunday in Denver against Peyton Manning and the No. 1-seeded Broncos? The two teams split their games during the regular season, each winning on the road.

Sam Farmer, the Times’ NFL columnist, likes the Chargers’ chances, despite their 10-point underdog status.

Who else does Sam like going into this weekend? Early in the week, he’s going with the Seahawks over the New Orleans Saints in Seattle, the Patriots over the Indianapolis Colts in New England and the Panthers over the San Francisco 49ers at Carolina.

Farmer picked three of the four games correctly in the wild-card round, including his choice of the Chargers over the Bengals. He correctly picked the Colts to beat the Kansas City Chiefs and the 49ers to beat the Green Bay Packers. He missed on the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost at home to the Saints.

Three of the four visiting teams won this past weekend. That might be harder to duplicate this weekend with the top two seeded teams in each conference hosting games.

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