The Kansas City Chiefs (9-4, 3-2 away) and Los Angeles Chargers (8-5, 4-3 home) kick off Week 15 of the NFL schedule with a marquee prime-time clash on Thursday Night Football.
Los Angeles took the earlier meeting between these two, winning 30-24 on a game-winning touchdown pass by Justin Herbert with 32 seconds left.
Thursday night’s kickoff is at 8:20 p.m. EST inside SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. Kansas City is a 3-point favorite in the AFC rematch, and the over-under total is at 52.0 points.
What to Know – Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City has won six in a row and sit one game ahead of the Chargers in the AFC West standings. If the Chiefs are able to pull out the road win Thursday night, they’ll become the first AFC squad to lock up a postseason bid.
The Chiefs average 27.0 points per game behind 399.4 yards of total offense. Kansas City surrenders 20.6 points per game and 373.4 yards of total offense to opponents.
Kansas City rolled in last week’s 48-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. The Chiefs’ defense forced five turnovers, and a fourth-quarter touchdown rush by Derek Gore set a new record for the largest margin of victory in a series that began in 1960.
Patrick Mahomes tossed a pair of touchdown passes, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for two scores. Tyreek Hill hauled in four passes for 76 yards, and Darrell Williams and Josh Gordon caught touchdown receptions.
What to Know – Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers are winners in three of their last four, including two-straight, and could pick up the season sweep over the Chiefs with a victory. A win all but secures a playoff spot for the Chargers as well.
Los Angeles also scores 27.0 points per game with 398.9 yards of offense production. The Chargers’ defense hasn’t been as strong as the Chiefs, allowing opponents to average 25.8 points on 363.2 yards of offense.
In last week’s 37-21 victory over the New York Giants, Justin Herbert threw for 275 yards with three touchdowns. Jalen Guyton, filling in for Keenan Allen, who was on the COVID-19 list, caught his second touchdown pass in as many weeks. Allen is expected to be back for Thursday’s tilt.
Austin Ekler carried the ball 12 times for 67 yards and a touchdown, and Joshua Palmer hauled in a season-high five receptions for 66 yards and his second career touchdown.
The Pick is In
A Thursday night battle between two AFC heavyweights is sure to provide fans with fireworks to kick off a critical week of action. The contest has come down to the final series in the last two games between these two teams, and we could see that same outcome tonight.
The Chiefs have improved on both sides of the ball since their Week 3 loss to these Chargers, and they’ve looked to be the better team over the last month of action. Los Angeles has back-to-back blowout victories, but that ends Thursday night.
Betting Pick: Kansas City Chiefs -3
