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The Kansas City Chiefs host the Los Angeles Chargers for an AFC West battle on Sunday Night Football! It is time to continue our NFL odds series with a Chargers-Chiefs prediction and pick.
Chargers-Chiefs Last Game – Matchup History
The Chiefs defeated the Bolts 17-10 in LA earlier in the season. The Chargers took a 10-0 lead followed by 17 unanswered points from the Chiefs.
Overall Series:
Here are the Chargers-Chiefs NFL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NFL Odds: Chargers-Chiefs Odds
Las Angeles Chargers: +3.5 (-104)
Moneyline: +172
Kansas City Chiefs: -3.5 (-118)
Moneyline: -200
Over: 42.5 (-115)
Under: 42.5 (-105)
How to Watch Chargers vs. Chiefs
Time: 8:20 ET/5:20 PT
TV: NBC/Peacock
*Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why The Chargers Could Cover The Spread/Win
The Chargers own the 4th best record in the AFC at 8-4 and are currently the 5-seed in the AFC playoff picture. LA defeated the Atlanta Falcons on the road in Week 13 without even scoring an offensive touchdown. A Tarheeb Still pick-six and Kirk Cousins' four interceptions won the game for the Chargers.
In Week 12, the Bolts lost JK Dobbins to a leg injury and he will miss a few more games and return right before the playoffs. For now, the Chargers do not have much of a run game. Gus Edwards led the Bolts with 32 yards in the win and Justin Herbert only finished with 147 yards. That was their worst performance of the season and now they face an even tougher defense.
If the Chargers want to win this game or keep it close, the connection between Herbert and Ladd McConkey must be active. The rookie caught nine passes for 117 yards and was the only source of offense (outside of Cameron Dicker) for the Bolts in the ATL. However, he has been banged up for weeks and McConkey's injuries are catching up with him. Despite the injury, he should play against the Chiefs. If not, then the Bolts don't stand much of a chance. Facing a good defense like KC, and in cold conditions, the Bolts must score at least one offensive touchdown to win this game. They will find ways to get a few field goals in there.
The Jesse Minter defense continues to shut opponents down. They had Cousins seeing ghosts last weekend. Still won AFC Defensive Player of the Week with his two-pick performance. The Bolts allow just 15.7 points per game which is once again the fewest in the NFL. If they force Patrick Mahomes to make mistakes, they will keep this game close.
LA should get rookie cornerback Cam Hart back for this game after suffering a concussion against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Why The Chiefs Could Cover The Spread/Win
The Chiefs defense will shut down the Bolts' run game. LA won't be able to do much there. If the Chiefs can come up with a game plan to shut down McConkey and Herbert, then LA might not even score a TD all night long. Jim Harbaugh will have his OC Greg Roman open up the playbook and the bag of tricks to beat their rival. As long as KC recognizes that, then it won't hurt them.
Mahomes and the Chiefs have not played well the last three weeks. They lost to the Buffalo Bills and then escaped with two wins against horrible teams in the Carolina Panthers and Las Vegas Raiders. At this rate, the Chiefs could lose at any point and to anyone. If they don't have a plan to beat this stellar Bolts' defense, then they could very well lose this game.
The good news is that Isaiah Pacheco is back to help Kareem Hunt in the run game. Hunt's first game of the season was against LA and he saw some success with 69 yards on 14 carries. Pacheco saw success one carry against the Raiders in his return as they barely beat them at home.
Mahomes needs to play mistake-free football. The Chargers are playing very well on defense and can easily force Mahomes into mistakes. In the win over the Raiders, he threw for 306 yards and a touchdown with zero interceptions.
Xavier Worthy caught a 52-yard TD in the win over the Chargers earlier this season and could be a solid weapon against the Bolts. Travis Kelce will continue to dominate against LA as he usually does.
KC recently signed kicker Mathew Wright to the active roster and put kicker Spencer Shrader on the IR alongside Harrison Butker.
Final Chargers-Chiefs Prediction & Pick
The Chargers need McConkey to play to have much of a chance at all. It's too early to tell if he will play, so taking the Chiefs ML is the best bet on the board with where the spread is at. The game may be close but the Chiefs will win at home on primetime.
Final Chargers-Chiefs Prediction & Pick: Chiefs ML (-200)
