San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs NFL Lines & Picks

Written by Jimmy Boyd on December 10, 2008

While the Chiefs are just 2-11 on the season, they have not been a team to leave out of your NFL betting arsenal. The Chiefs are 7-6 against the number on the season and a strong 4-1 against the NFL point spreads in division games. The Chiefs played San Diego to a one-point game on November 9th, but odds makers have still listed Kansas City as a 5.5-point underdog with the total set at 45.5.

This game takes on an interesting dynamic right from the start as the Chiefs are just 1-5 at home this season and the Chargers are only 1-5 on the road. With San Diego, who is second in the AFC West at 5-8, not getting any help from the Chiefs against the Broncos, the Chargers will be eliminated from playoff contention with one more loss or a Broncos win.

It’s been a trying season for the Chargers which were expected to be among the AFC’s elite once again. The one thing they were able to do was beat up on the Raiders this year, winning by 10 and 27 points respectively in two meetings. QB Phillip Rivers is having a strong season with little help from the running game. Rivers may have only been 10 of 22 last week, but he passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns on those 10 completions. Wide receiver Vincent Jackson is quickly developing into a go-to guy. He had 148 receiving yards in the performance including a 59-yard touchdown reception. An inconsistent running attack has held the Bolts back all season as future Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson has been hampered by a turf toe injury. L.T. was able to rush for 91 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders and that should give him plenty of confidence before going up against a Chiefs defense that is 180 yards rushing per game at home this season.

Another area where the Chargers really dominated the Raiders was with their pass defense. They forced three interceptions, a fumble, and posted three sacks. San Diego held the Chiefs to just 76 yards rushing and we expect Kansas City to have a tough time getting anything on the ground again. The Chargers allowed only 54 yards rushing to the Raiders last Thursday. With an extra three days to rest and prepare, the Chargers should have no excuses for beating Chiefs this week. If you like them to get the job done, bet the Chargers at -5.5 at Bookmaker and receive a 20% sign up bonus.

The Chiefs were able to torch the Chargers secondary for 263 yards in the first meeting. QB Tyler Thigpen will look to bounce back from a so-so day against the Broncos to torch the Chargers again. Thigpen was 17 of 32 for 187 yards and a touchdown. The problem is that he has time to throw and needs to do a better job of putting the football on the money. Future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez came up with a couple great catches against the Broncos and should have favorable matchups across the board this week. Tailback Larry Johnson, who rushed for 198 yards in the week four upset over Denver, was silenced with only 36 rushing yards in the game.

The Chiefs’ passing defense needs to be better, plain and simple. It allowed Rivers to throw for 308 yards in that earlier season loss and allowed Cutler to hit them up for 286 last week. The rushing defense has been horrendous all season, but Kansas City was able to hold the Chargers to just 92 yards rushing in San Diego in the earlier season matchup. If you like Kansas City to take the Chargers right down to the wire again, bet the Chiefs at +5.5 at Bookmaker.

Get all your winning Week 15 NFL picks right here from Jimmy Boyd of Locksmith Sports!

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in: