Chargers vs. Broncos Point Spread: NFL Week 17 Odds, Prediction
The Broncos dropped to 7-8 on the season with last week’s 26-23 loss against New England. Denver is in complete desperation mode at this point as there’s still no guarantee they will make the playoffs even if they win their last two regular season games against the Chargers and Raiders. The Chargers are already out of playoff contention and with a 5-10 record entering Week 17, they will likely finish last in the AFC West division.
Denver is a 3.5-point favourite to win on the NFL odds, with the total sitting at 37.0.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Broncos took the first meeting of the season between these AFC West rivals, winning 24-7 at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium in Week 14. It was a costly defeat for the Chargers, who lost franchise quarterback Justin Herbert to a season-ending finger injury in the game.
L.A. has been a train-wreck over their last seven games, going 1-6 straight up and 2-5 against the spread in that span. They now sit 6-9 ATS for the season. The Chargers have lost outright in nine of their last 10 trips to Denver, while the Under has cashed in 10 of the Chargers’ 15 games this season, including five of seven on the road.
The Broncos placed themselves into playoff contention by going 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS through late October and November. They managed to negate that success, however, by losing outright and failing to cover in three of their last four games. Denver is a dismal 5-9-1 ATS this season, with the total going Under in seven of their last 10 games.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers scored on two of their first three drives last week against Buffalo and they actually led by one point in the fourth quarter before giving up a late touchdown in the narrow loss. Easton Stick, making just his second career start in place of Herbert, finished with 215 passing yards and rushed for a touchdown. Austin Ekeler ran for 65 yards on 15 carries and caught three passes for another 21 yards.
The big question mark surrounding L.A. at the moment is the status of receiver Keenan Allen, who has missed the last two games with a heel injury. Allen is the Chargers’ most productive receiver by a mile. His 1,243 receiving yards on the season is seventh-most in the NFL and it’s 706 yards more than L.A.’s next closest receiver, Josh Palmer. At this point it seems unlikely Allen will play, which would be a big blow for the Chargers.
Denver Broncos
It looks like the end of the road for Russell Wilson in Denver as the Broncos are benching him for the final two weeks of the season in favour of Jarrett Stidham. Wilson, who could be cut in the off-season, threw for 238 yards and two TDs last week, but he’s been largely ineffective all season and his 6.9 average yards per pass attempt is the lowest of his career. This is essentially the exact same position Stidham was in last year with the Raiders when he started the final two games of the season in place of Derek Carr. Stidham averaged 292 passing yards over those two games, throwing for four TDs and three interceptions.
Denver’s defence has seemingly collapsed over the last two games. They were lit up for 42 points against Detroit two weeks ago and they just gave up 26 points to a New England offence that ranks dead last in the NFL with an average of 14.1 points per game. It’s not as if the Broncos’ defence isn’t capable. The team allowed an average of just 15.6 points per game in seven games between Week 7 and Week 14. That’s the level of play Denver needs to get back to if they want to end their season with a couple of wins.