At 4-7, the Chargers can’t afford another loss if they’re going to have any chance at the playoffs. LA gets star safety Derwin James back from injury this week when it visits Denver, which might give Drew Lock his first career start at QB. The Broncos have won 13 of the last 17 meetings.
- Date/Time: December 1, 4:25 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Empower Field at Mile High
- TV Coverage: CBS
- Sportsbook Odds: Pick’em | O/U 38.5
- Chargers vs Broncos Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Oddsmakers opened the Chargers as the slightest of favorites, making the line a pick‘em with the juice shaded toward LA. That line had moved up to Chargers -2.5 as of Monday night at Sportsbook. Los Angeles has been a money-maker in the road chalk role, going 6-2 ATS in its last eight when laying points away from home.
Los Angeles News & Notes
The Chargers entered this week with the 14th-ranked offense and the fifth-best defense in the NFL, based on total yards. So how the heck is Los Angeles 4-7? Turnovers. The Chargers are -9 in turnover differential so far this season, the fifth-worst mark in the league, and quarterback Philip Rivers is the big reason why.
In fact, after a four-interception outing against Kansas City two weeks ago, speculation is swirling that the Chargers won’t extend their veteran signal-caller a contract extension at the end of the season. This year, Rivers has thrown nearly as many interceptions (14) as touchdowns (15), easily the worst TD-to-interception ratio of his career.
All seven of the Chargers’ losses have come by a single possession, so if LA can stop shooting itself in the foot, there’s still hope the Bolts can make a push for a wild-card berth.
That optimism gets a big boost this week as star safety Derwin James makes his season debut after missing the first 11 games due to a broken foot. James had 105 tackles, three interceptions and 3.5 sacks as a rookie last season.
Denver News & Notes
The Broncos are no stranger to gut-wrenching losses themselves, having already suffered four losses by four points or less. But there wasn’t anything close about Denver’s latest defeat, a 20-3 humbling last week in Buffalo when the Broncos had just nine first downs and 134 total yards.
Quarterback Brandon Allen was just 3-for-14 in the second half and didn’t complete a pass on Denver’s final five possessions, wasting yet another decent effort by the Broncos’ eighth-ranked defense.
It seems like Denver coach Vic Fangio has seen enough from Allen, who won his debut after taking over the starting job from Joe Flacco but has regressed badly since. Drew Lock, the Broncos’ second-round pick last year, may get his first career NFL start against the Chargers.
“All options are on the table,” said Fangio, whose Broncos rank 29th in passing yards this year. “We’re going to make a decision (by Wednesday).”
Betting Pick: UNDER 38.5
This total is obviously quite low, but it’s low for a reason. I expect Denver to emphasize the running game regardless of who’s at QB, and for the Broncos D to pressure Rivers into some more drive-killing mistakes.
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of the Chargers’ last 10 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in the Broncos’ last 9 games vs divisional foes.
- The total has gone UNDER in the Chargers’ last 4 games vs the Broncos.
