The last week of the regular season is upon us, with the San Diego Chargers traveling to meet the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The game starts at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday and will air on CBS.
In a Week 7 meeting between these two teams, San Diego lost a close one to Kansas City 23-20. Jamaal Charles had a great performance on the ground in that game, gaining 95 yards and one TD on 22 carries. Antonio Gates had a solid performance for San Diego, registering three receptions for 61 yards and one TD.
The Chiefs, a three-point favorite, will be looking to hold down their home field when San Diego comes to town. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is zero points. Sitting at 8-7 Straight Up (SU) and 9-6 Against The Spread (ATS), the Chiefs will look to improve as they head into Week 17. In the past five games, Kansas City is 1-4 both SU and ATS. They should be excited to have the Chargers and their 27th-ranked scoring defense come into town. Their Swiss cheese defense gives up an average of 28 points per away game. Chances are Kansas City will try to take advantage of an inferior run defense. The Chargers are 26th in the league against the run, giving up 125 rushing yards per game. As for the Kansas City defense, there are important areas to keep an eye on. The Chargers will be matching up against a stout Kansas City pass defense, which only allowed 197.4 passing yards over their last five matchups. The Chiefs should keep an eye on San Diego’s defensive struggles during the third quarter of away games, when they give up 8.4 points per game. Kansas City makes the most of its talent on special teams, averaging a league-high 133.7 return yards per game.
Across the field, the Chargers have a record of 7-8 ATS and 9-6 SU. Over their last five games, the Chargers have a SU record of 3-2 and a 2-3 record ATS for those betting with them. San Diego’s quarterback and wide receivers must be licking their chops this week as they look to keep their strong passing attack rolling. Over the past five games, they’ve managed an impressive 280.2 yards through the air. Switching gears to the San Diego defense, it has some favorable matchups that it may be able to take advantage of as well. The Chargers may be able to focus their attention on other areas because Kansas City’s passing game has not been reliable this year. The Chiefs rank 27th in the league with 204.1 passing yards per game. The Chargers have a habit of starting the second half with the proper adjustments in place. They average 7.4 points during the third quarter of road games, ranking fourth in the NFL. Kansas City tends to lose the time of possession battle during home games, averaging a time of 28:17 for 27th in the league.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, ATS Winner – KC, O/U – Under
Notes
San Diego is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games.
San Diego is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games.
San Diego is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Diego’s last 5 games on the road.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Diego’s last 5 games when playing Kansas City.
San Diego is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Kansas City.
San Diego is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Kansas City.
San Diego is 8-16 SU in its last 24 games when playing on the road against Kansas City.
San Diego is 5-2 SU when leading at the half this season. Kansas City is 6-1 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
San Diego is 5-2 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle this season, and only 1-4 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
The San Diego defense has forced an average of 2.2 turnovers over its last five games, but Kansas City is 4-2 SU this season when turning the ball over at least 2 times in a game.
The Kansas City passing attack is ranked only 27th in the league, while the San Diego pass defense is ranked sixth. The Chargers’ passing game is ranked just ninth, compared to the second-ranked pass defense of the Chiefs.
San Diego has given up 28.0 points per contest on the road, which is ranked only 27th in the league. Kansas City has put up 25.7 points per game at home (ranked 11th overall).
