A critical matchup in the AFC West gets the betting week started when the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football. Winners of six straight the Chiefs have regained their rightful spot atop the division standings, though the Bolts are right on their tail just a game back. With Patrick Mahomes looking as good as ever and a defense that’s held the last three opponents to fewer than 10 points, the Chiefs have emerged once again as a Super Bowl favorite. And they’ll look to make up for an early season home loss to LA, the Chiefs’ second straight to their main division rival.
This NFL regular season Week 15 matchup will take place on Thursday, December 16, 2021 at 8:20 p.m. ET at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA and will be televised on FOX and NFL Network.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kansas City Chiefs -4
Los Angeles Chargers +4
Total 50.5
Odds Analysis
It looks like the Chiefs bandwagon has a full load of passengers. Those same folks were jumping ship early in the season when the team fell to 3-4 following a loss at Tennessee. A nice winning streak can change things and the Chiefs are on a roll having won six straight with payouts in each of the last four. Kansas City opened as a 3-point road favorite with that number quickly wagered up a point to KC -4. The Chargers won their second straight beating the Giants 37-21 on Sunday covering the 9.5-point line for their second straight payout. The Chiefs have dominated division opponents during their run of five straight AFC West titles, but the Bolts have won the last two meetings, including a 30-24 upset as a 6.5-point dog in Week 3. The total was bet up a half point to 50.5.
Key Injury
Injuries are a part of the game and how teams deal with them is a huge part of their success or failure. The Chargers had a potential devastating injury to Austin Ekeler on Sunday when he left the game with a bum ankle. The Bolts are optimistic Ek will be ready to play on Thursday. He’s been a key element for an offense that’s averaged nearly 40 points in its last three wins already establishing career highs in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns. He’s evolved into an every down back with 1,265 combined yards placing him among the top-10 in the NFL. Even if Ekeler plays on Thursday night he’ll likely be limited meaning Justin Jackson will get more reps. The Chargers could also be without starting left tackle Rashawn Slater, who was placed on the COVID list Monday.
Key Stat
We talked about turnovers before in this section especially when it came to the Chiefs. There was a time not that long ago when Mahomes was tossing interceptions at an alarming rate. He had a stretch of seven games with at least one pick and in three of those he tossed multiple interceptions. Following their 27-3 loss to the Titans the Chiefs had a minus-10 turnover margin. Fast forward a few weeks and KC has the same number of takeaways as giveaways for the season. That’s because they’ve forced at least three turnovers in each of the past three games, have multiple takeaways in the last five and have forced 19 turnovers in their previous eight games. They are plus-10 in turnover differential during their six-game winning streak forcing the Raiders to cough it up five times on Sunday. KC scored four touchdowns off the miscues running out the clock after recovering a fumble on Vegas’ last possession.
Free ATS Pick
The Chiefs were a different team back in Week 3 when they were upset by the Bolts at home. They’ve certainly turned things around, especially on defense allowing less than 11 points per game during their six-game winning streak while holding each of the last three opponents and four overall to fewer than 10 points. The 17 points scored by the Giants of all teams are the most surrendered during that stretch. Mahomes had gone two straight games without a touchdown pass before tossing two against the Raiders, and the Chiefs showed a balanced attack with 132 rushing yards. The Bolts are next to last against the run and will have a hard time slowing down KC’s attack.
NFL Pick: Kansas City Chiefs -4 / UNDER 50.5
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