Los Angeles Chargers vs Kansas City Chiefs Picks and Odds Week 15
Los Angeles Chargers vs Kansas City Chiefs Betting Preview
WagerTalk NFL handicapper Andy Lang offers his Los Angeles Chargers vs Kansas City Chiefs NFL Week 15 Thursday Night Football betting preview. At the time of posting, the Chiefs are holding steady as a 3-point road favorite in Los Angeles, with the total sitting at 52 points.
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| NFL Week 15 | Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread | Kansas City Chiefs -3 at Los Angeles Chargers |
| Total | 52 Points |
| Game Time | 8:15pm ET / 5:15pm PT on Thursday, December 16 |
| Stadium | SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California |
| TV | FOX, NFL Network and Amazon |
Los Angeles Chargers vs Kansas City Chiefs Predictions
The Chiefs and Chargers face off on Thursday night in a monster game with huge playoff implications. The Chiefs are tied for the best record in the AFC, but a Chargers win would move the Chargers into a potential tie for the best record in the AFC if New England and Tennessee stumble this weekend. If the Chiefs win, they set themselves up for a race for the #1 seed and they will have three games coming up in which they will be favored by 6 or more. If the Chargers lose that moves them into a tie with a lot of teams and they could go from a high seed to out of the playoffs.
The good news for the Chargers is they have three games left, two of which should be easy wins. The Chiefs are streaking right now, and the Chargers have won two games in a row in dominant fashion, so let’s break it down and see how to wager on this game with the Chiefs being a 3-point favorite and a total of 52 points.
The rest of the league might be a bit concerned as it appears as if the Chiefs are peaking at the right time. Six wins in a row, and don’t look now but the Chiefs defense is dominating right now. They’ve held six straight opponents to 20 points or less, and four of those opponents to nine or fewer and it has vaulted them into the top 7 of points allowed this season.
It’s fair to question the caliber of opponents, but they’ve been getting better and better over the last month+. Their rushing game is still an issue as they only rush for 111 yards a game, and as a team with the lead as much as they have I feel that number should be higher, but they don’t have a workhorse back and Mahomes short passing game is the substitute.
The Chargers have won three out of four and while Herbert is the talk of the town, to me, their last two wins aren’t as impressive as they may seem. They beat the Giants easily, but the Giants are crumbling. They beat the Bengals by 19, but Cincy handed them the game with some bad turnovers. This Chargers team lost to Denver and Minnesota and New England and Baltimore (with a healthy Lamar) since Week 6, so I see them losing to the better teams.
Los Angeles still can’t stop the run as they are the second worst rush defense in the league, but they only give up 207 yards passing so it should be interesting how they match up against this Chiefs offense. The Chargers beat the Chiefs 30-24 in Week 3, but I don’t take a whole lot away from that game as the Kansas City Chiefs defense is completely different.
My play is going to be for the Chiefs -3, and it’s based on the ATS records of these two teams. For the season, KC is 6-7 covering the spread, and LAC is 7-6 covering the spread. However, over the last five games the Chargers are 2-3 and the Chiefs have covered in four straight games, and Los Angeles has no home field advantage as they are 3-4 ATS at home this season. So Kansas City was 2-7 ATS their first nine games and we’re seeing them improve and peak as the season progresses and this ATS record is regressing back to the mean, and I see another cover coming for Kansas City.
This new “Bend But Don’t Break” defense has been incredible for the Chiefs, and the last four wins for Los Angeles have come against teams in the bottom half of points allowed. Their last loss was a 28-13 drubbing against a great defensive team in Denver, and Herbert had two interceptions and the team had only 72 yards rushing. The Chiefs should be able to stymie the Chargers and put up enough points to get the ATS win here.
OFFICIAL PLAY: CHIEFS -3
✏️As the #NFL regular season winds down over the next few weeks, there may be some correlated parlay opportunities (i.e. remember how the NFC East ended last season?) Take a peek at our parlay betting guide for some additional wagering nuggets.
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Los Angeles Chargers vs Kansas City Chiefs Analysis from The GoldSheet
Kansas City has won six-straight with four-straight covers after dismantling the Raiders 48-9 on Sunday, maintaining its one-game lead over the Chargers in the AFC West. Los Angeles did its part to set up this showdown at SoFi Stadium by taking the Giants 37-21 in a game that wasn’t that close (New York scored 2 TDs in the final 4:33 of the game to make a 37-7 differential appear more competitive).
This is a revenge match for the Chiefs, who suffered a 30-24 defeat at Arrowhead Stadium back on September 26, when LA triggerman Justin Herbert completed 26 of 38 passes for 281 yds. and 4 TDs, while Chief QB Patrick Mahomes was a much less efficient 27 of 44 for 260 yds., 3 TDs and 2 interceptions. That was the Chargers second-straight win in KC after they took a 38-21 decision on Jan. 3 last season, a game that didn’t mean much, as Chiefs HC Andy Reid rested his star Mahomes with KC having already clinched home field advantage over Buffalo for the AFC playoff home edge.
This time around it will be a full-throttle version on both sides, and just don’t feel comfortable going against a Chiefs’ crew that has apparently fixed its defense (bravo Steve Spagnuolo!), which has held eight-straight foes to 20 pts. or fewer (last three managed just nine each), after giving up 28 ppg in the first five of the year in which the Chiefs started 2-3.
Bet On It | Los Angeles Chargers vs Kansas City Chiefs Preview
The barking dogs, sandwiches, teasers, and steam plays are back! Join Kelly, Marco, Gianni and Ralph every Wednesday for Bet On It as we discuss the NFL and college football betting slate from a variety of betting angles. We begin the Los Angeles Chargers vs Kansas City Chiefs discussion at the 8:45 timestamp.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, point spreads, first half lines and betting percentages for all of the NFL Week 15 games, including this Los Angeles Chargers vs Kansas City Chiefs showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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