Chargers Looking to Play Spoilers Against Vikings

The Los Angeles Chargers (5-8) may not have much to play for down the stretch this season, but they can hurt the playoff chances of their last three opponents, starting with the Minnesota Vikings (9-4) this Sunday at home. The Vikings have a losing road record at 3-4 and likely need to win at least one of their remaining three games to clinch a spot in the postseason.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Vikings have been bet down a bit in early wagering action, keeping the current point spread within a field goal. The Chargers have underperformed most of the season and have the potential to win this game at home if quarterback Philip Rivers can limit his turnovers. Two solid defenses have made the total drop to 44.5 as well in what could be a low-scoring affair.

Minnesota News & Notes

Minnesota rebounded nicely from a tough 37-30 road loss to the Seattle Seahawks as a 3-point road underdog in the Week 13 Monday Night Football matchup by beating the Detroit Lions 20-7 and covering the spread as a 12-point home favorite last Sunday.

The Vikings kept their perfect home record intact by improving to 6-0 at U.S. Bank Stadium behind a strong defensive performance, with the Lions failing to score a point until there was 2:09 left in the game.

Offensively, they did just enough to earn the victory, as quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 242 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and running backs Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison combined for 108 yards on 32 carries and one touchdown between them. A shoulder injury is still a concern for Cook, but the rookie Mattison is a capable backup.

Los Angeles News & Notes

It is no surprise that the first game Rivers did not throw an interception in a month also resulted in the first victory for Los Angeles in that span. The 38-year-old veteran played one of his best games of the season on his birthday last Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 45-10 rout, completing 16 of 22 passes for 314 yards with three touchdowns after throwing eight picks during a three-game losing streak to severely hurt the team’s playoff hopes.

It may be too little, too late for the Chargers at this point, but they still have plenty of talent and can certainly pull off the upset in this spot. The key will be whether they can play the same defensively against a much better offensive team in Minnesota.

Betting Pick: UNDER 44.5

The UNDER has cashed in the last five home games for Los Angeles, and that trend is stronger than a 4-0 OVER run in Minnesota road games. Why? Because the UNDER went 3-0 in the first three away from home for the Vikings, who have lost two of three as visitors.