The bumbling of the San Diego Chargers has gotten so ridiculous, you now expect them to implode in the fourth quarter and find new ways to lose football games. It happened again Sunday, though the mistakes actually started in the third quarter, and they handed the Raiders a victory. The turnovers and botched snaps on field goal attempts are no fault of Mike McCoy, but the coach is about to pay the price with his job. San Diego will attempt to break a 10-game losing streak to AFC West competition when it hosts the Denver Broncos in Week 6.
Watch this regular season Week 6 matchup live on Thursday, October 13, 2016, at 5:25 p.m. ET at Qualcomm Stadium.
Odds Analysis
With Trevor Siemien nearing a return to the starting lineup for the Broncos, the line has yet to hit the board. The performance of Paxton Lynch in a loss to the Falcons on Sunday has made oddsmakers nervous in setting the spread. Regardless of who starts, the Broncos will be favored in this one and the spread will be around 5-points if Siemian gets the nod and lower if not. The Broncos have won eight of nine against the Chargers overall and they are 5-0 SU and ATS in the last five played in San Diego.
Injury Report
Donald Stephenson – The starting tackle sat out Sunday with a calf injury and his replacement, Ty Sambrailo, was abused by the Falcons. The pass protection broke down, allowing six sacks, and the run game has been nearly non-existent in the games Stephenson has missed.
Jason Verrett – The injury bug continues to bite the Chargers with starting corner Verrett lost with a season-ending knee injury. Verrett had emerged as a top cover man and his loss further hurts a secondary that has been without Brandon Flowers due to a concussion. San Diego allows nearly 300 passing yards per game to rank 27th in the league.
Matchup to Watch
The Broncos don’t have the type of offense that’s going to carve teams up through the air. Not any more at least. Since the record-breaking season of 2013, the Broncos have shifted to a more defensive style of play, and that was good enough to capture the Super Bowl title last season. The job of running the offense is to not screw things up. Don’t turn the ball over and score when the chances are there. But facing a San Diego defense that has been shredded by injuries and a secondary that is down two starting cornerbacks and a starting safety, it might be time to take a few shots.
We’re not sure who the Broncos starting quarterback will be on Thursday. Siemian is still nursing a sore shoulder and the job could go to Lynch for a second straight game on a short week. But whoever it is, he’ll be facing a Chargers defense that isn’t what it looked like at the beginning of the year. Verrett was put on injured reserve with a partially torn ACL, Flowers is still recovering from a concussion and safety Jahleel Addae is out a few more weeks.
Free ATS Pick
Lynch may be the future quarterback of the Broncos, but the present was rather ugly. Lynch didn’t get much support from his mates in the running game or on the line, but his indecisiveness was partly to blame for the lackluster effort in a loss to the Falcons. I guess the team really needs Siemian more than anyone wants to admit. And the starter could be back for Thursday night’s matchup. He was nearing a return but the coaching staff decided to be cautious with his return. It did give Lynch an opportunity, but the Broncos are a better team right now with Siemian running the show.
And unlike the Chargers, Denver doesn’t beat itself. After turning the ball over four times, San Diego still had a chance to win Sunday’s game in Oakland. But once again, McCoy went conservative on a third-down play, failed to get a first down in Raiders territory, tried a game-tying field goal and the hold was muffed. Game over. For a team that needed a lift, the coach shackled them, playing to not lose rather than to win, and the result was a familiar one for San Diego fans. If the Chargers don’t have a new coach by Thursday, they will after losing to the Broncos.
NFL Odds: Broncos 31, Chargers 26
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