Kansas City Chiefs vs Los Angeles Chargers Prediction, 1/7/2024 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Week 18

Game: Kansas City Chiefs vs Los Angeles Chargers

Date: Sunday, January 7, 2024

Location: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Chargers (-2)

Total/Over-Under: 35.5

The Kansas City Chiefs (10-6) are on their way to SoFi Stadium on Sunday where they will attempt to beat the Los Angeles Chargers (5-11). Los Angeles opens this contest as 2-point favorites from oddsmakers. The betting total comes in at 35.5.

The Kansas City Chiefs head into this matchup 10-6 for this year. The last time they stepped on the gridiron, the Chiefs played against the Bengals and walked away with a win by a score of 25-17. Patrick Mahomes connected on 21/29 with 245 yards through the air and 1 TD. He had a quarterback rate of 109.1 and walked away from the game with no picks. Rashee Rice had an average of 25.4 yds per reception by accumulating 127 yds on 5 receptions. Isiah Pacheco was the leader on the ground for the Chiefs with 18 carries for 130 yards (7.2 yards per carry). When all was said and done, they ran 53 plays for 373 yards. The Kansas City Chiefs ran the football 22 times and accumulated 132 yards, which had them averaging 6.0 yards per carry. When it came to stopping the run, the Chiefs conceded 104 yards on 32 attempts, which is an average of 3.3 yards per run surrendered. Kansas City conceded 19 completions on 33 attempts for a total of 159 yards, and a completion rate of 57.6%.

The Chiefs have earned 5,704 total yards this season. Kansas City has recorded 210 1st downs as a unit, and they have committed 93 penalties for 788 yds. When it comes to scoring touchdowns, Kansas City has totaled 28 touchdowns through the air and 9 touchdowns on the ground. They have turned the ball over 27 different times (16 picks and 11 fumbles lost). As a unit they're holding an average of 103.8 yards via the ground game ranking them 19th in the NFL. In terms of putting points on the board, the Kansas City Chiefs hold an average of 22.4 points per game.

In terms of passing yardage, the Chiefs have conceded 2,766 yards which has them sitting in 2nd in the league. They have given up 172.9 yards per outing through the air in addition to conceding a completion percentage of 61.3%. Over the course of this season, they are giving up 285.8 yards/outing which ranks them 2nd in football. They are giving up 4.5 yards per tote and 112.9 rushing yards per contest over the course of this season. In total, they have given up 1,807 running yards through 16 games. The Chiefs are ranked 3rd in the NFL in relation to the opposition scoring, conceding 17.6 points per game.

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The Chargers head into this matchup 5-11 for this year. The last time they stepped on the gridiron, the Chargers walked away with a loss by a score of 16-9 when they played the Broncos. Easton Stick ended the contest with 220 yds on 24/38 passing while his QB rating was 78.8. He didn't toss any picks and his avg yards per attempt was 5.8 yards. Alex Erickson was featured in the passing game for the Chargers, snagging 7 passes for 98 yards (14.0 yards per catch). Austin Ekeler carried the rock 13 times for 46 yards, finishing the contest with 3.5 yds per carry for Los Angeles. The Chargers finished the contest with 301 yards and they ran 63 plays (4.8 yds per play). Los Angeles ended up running for 3.6 yards per attempt, finishing with a total of 86 yards on 24 attempts. Los Angeles relinquished 33 running attempts for 101 yards (3.1 yards per carry). The Chargers pass defense gave up a completion rate of 62.5%, surrendering 212 yards on 20 for 32 through the air.

Regarding putting points on the board, the Chargers currently sit 21st in the league with 20.9 points per contest. For the season to this point, the Chargers currently sit at 3,722 passing yards not to mention an average of 232.6 passing yards per game, putting them at 13th in the NFL. They are averaging 95.3 run yards per game and have rushed for 1,524 yards in total. The Los Angeles Chargers are averaging 327.9 yards/game which has them sitting 19th in football. The Los Angeles offense has racked up 720 penalty yds on 78 violations, which is good for 28th in football in terms of giving up free yards. They have given away 8 interceptions while letting opponents recover 12 fumbles and they have been able to obtain 192 first downs.

They have given up 26 touchdowns through the air in addition to 256.3 yards/game, which has them sitting 30th out of all teams. Los Angeles has yielded a total of 1,801 yards rushing (112.6 yards per game) in addition to 18 touchdowns rushing this year. Over the course of the season, they have allowed 385 points in total. They have earned 20 takeaways (12 fumbles recovered and 8 picks) on the campaign. The Chargers defense has participated in 1,054 plays, which is good for 30th in the league. The Chargers are surrendering 24.1 PPG, which has them in 25th in the NFL.

Who will win tonight's Chiefs/Chargers NFL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Chargers -2

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