The Los Angeles Chargers missed out on a golden chance to wrest control of the AFC West and strengthen their playoff hopes with a loss to the Chiefs last time out. The Chargers still have a possibility of making the postseason, but those odds have dropped drastically. They will need to win out and get some help in order to keep playing when the regular season ends.
Los Angeles must win in Week 16 when they hit the road to face off against the New York Jets. Luckily for them, this is a good matchup as New York will be using a backup quarterback. The Chargers no longer control their own destiny but have an avenue to the postseason so must stack up two more victories down the stretch.
Kickoff for this regular season Week 16 game is set for Sunday, December 24, 2017, at 1 p.m. ET at MetLife Stadium.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Los Angeles Chargers -7
New York Jets +7
Over/Under 42.5
Odds Analysis
Los Angeles is a touchdown favorite on the road, but the betting public has deemed that too high as more than 61 percent of the action is on the Jets to cover. The scoring total is lower than most NFL games because of New York’s situation on offense. The “under” has been hammered hard since this wager was made public.
Injury Report
Hunter Henry — The Chargers’ tight end left Saturday’s game against Kansas City early with an undisclosed injury and did not return. On Monday, it was revealed that Henry had suffered a laceration to his kidney which would point toward an early end to his season. Henry has 579 receiving yards and four touchdowns for Los Angeles this season and his injury comes as a big blow to the Chargers at this point in the season.
Denzel Perryman — The Los Angeles linebacker is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s contest against the Jets with a strained hamstring. He left last Saturday’s game early due to the injury and could miss the remainder of the season as well. Jatavis Brown would likely be the one to replace Perryman in the likely event he does miss time.
Muhammad Wilkerson — The Jets’ defensive end was benched for last week’s game against the Saints for being late to a meeting. Tardiness has been an ongoing issue for the team’s highest-paid player as he’s missed time the last three seasons straight due to it. He was also benched during the first quarter of New York’s game against Kansas City for being late.
Player to Watch
Bryce Petty — The Jets’ quarterback made his first start of the season this season against New Orleans and it was an up-and-down performance for the fill-in behind center. He finished 19-of-39 passing for 179 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the 31-19 loss to the Saints.
To be fair, it was a game in which the Jets came in as clear underdogs, but the defense gave them a shot, coming up with three turnovers against the Saints. Petty and the offense, however, were only able to manage one field goal from those three turnovers.
Petty became the Jets starter after Josh McCown broke his hand against Denver on December 10th. He’ll remain this starter this week against the Chargers and will look to turn in a better performance in this one.
Free ATS Pick
The Chargers turned the ball over too many times last time out in a loss to the Chiefs, but this is still a good team. Los Angeles shouldn’t have too much trouble taking care of business in this matchup to keep its playoff hopes alive.
New York is undermanned and won’t be able to put together enough plays offensively. Take the Chargers to cover this spread, while the “under” is the choice.
NFL Odds: Chargers 23, Jets 14
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