Deposit Instantly Using Your Credit Card at Sportsbook.com!

NFL Odds: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers

Written by Jack Jones

The San Diego Chargers host the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday with the hopes of staying one game behind the Denver Broncos in the AFC West title race. The Chargers seem to be falling apart after losing two straight games and then taking last week off with a bye, but at 3-5 they were one game behind Denver heading into this week. If San Diego wants to keep pace with Denver, all they have to do is take care of business against the 1-7 Chiefs this weekend. The NFL odds for this game find San Diego as a 15-point favorite of Kansas City with the total set at 47.

The problem for the Chargers this year has been their defense, and the team is hoping that the firing of coordinator Ted Cottrell over the bye week will do the unit some good. Ron Rivera will take over, who was a former defensive coordinator with the Bears during their Super Bowl run. If only the Chiefs’ had the same problems as San Diego, but after losing 16 of 17 you could say the issues are running a little deeper. This team has played better though and blew leads against the Jets and Bucs the last two weeks.

Quarterback Tyler Thigpen has done a good job filling in under enter, and has looked awesome that last two weeks in going 39-of-61 for 444 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Mark Bradley had four catches for 65 yards last week, and even threw a touchdown pass to Thigpen on a trick play. Tight end Tony Gonzalez has 40 receptions and three touchdowns on the year, while Dwayne Bowe has 42 grabs for three more scores. The running game will depend on Jamaal Charles, who has 266 rushing yards this year. Kolby Smith was lost to a season ending knee injury, and Larry Johnson is serving a one-game suspension.

The Chiefs rank last in the NFL in giving up 182.4 rushing yards per game, last with 5.4 ypc, and last with 14 rushing touchdowns allowed. The team is also at the bottom of the barrel in rushes allowed over 20 yards at 15 and sacks with a dismal four. The rush defense has been horrible and without any pressure on the quarterback teams are picking apart Kansas City’s rookie cornerbacks. If with your NFL game picks you think this unit can play good enough so the Chiefs can cover the +15, bet the game at BetUS and get up to 145% in signup bonuses.

The San Diego offense is doing it’s part to win games, with quarterback Philip Rivers leading the league in touchdown passes with 19 and passer rating at 107.8. He has thrown for 2,038 yards and has only been picked six times. He has plenty of quality targets with Chris Chambers, Vincent Jackson, and tight end Antonio Gates. Those three have combined for 14 touchdowns to help take the pressure off a running game that isn’t really getting the job done. LaDainian Tomlinson has just a 3.9 ypc mark, and hasn’t scored a touchdown in four straight weeks.

San Diego is weak against the pass, but that might be good news with Thigpen being a rookie quarterback. The unit is last in the NFL with 265.1 passing ypg allowed. Shawne Merriman’s injury seems to really be effecting the unit since they can’t get a pass rush to take the heat off of their secondary. The Chargers are better against the run at 16th in the league, and they have only given up one run longer than 20 yards all season long. For your NFL betting this weekend you might want to take the Chargers -15 at Sportsbook.com where you can get a 100% bonus on your first winning wager.

Get more NFL picks each week from our expert handicappers!

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