Jason McIntyre
Co-host of THE HERD and FOX sports activities betting analyst
Are you prepared for the Thursday night time showdown with the Chargers and Broncos?
They definitely are. But watch out, as a result of there was a motion of the road.
The Chargers have been favored by three factors at residence, however these factors are gone. Denver cash hit the market in the course of the night time on Wednesday.
The final assembly occurred in Week 6 and the Chargers dominated. They led 20-0 at halftime and 23-0 early within the fourth quarter earlier than some rubbish performs by Denver made the sport appear nearer than it was.
The Broncos had 83 yards early within the fourth quarter earlier than three drives within the dashing assault racked up 233 yards.
All season, Bo Nix has torn aside zone defenses, however has struggled when going through man defenses. The Chargers’ flexibility beneath Jesse Minter did an awesome job of disguising the protection within the earlier assembly, and Nix ended up tucking and dashing six instances for 61 yards.
One factor to notice is that the Chargers had an early bye.
Their week off was in early October, proper earlier than the sport towards the Broncos. They have appeared a depleted workforce in latest weeks, scoring simply 17 factors of their final three video games. Incidentally, they did not even have JK Dobbins in these three video games (the Chargers have 12 gamers on injured reserve).
The hardest a part of this handicap is taking into account how beat up LA is. Quentin Johnston has an ankle drawback and Will Dissly has a shoulder drawback.
The Broncos had a bye two weeks in the past, have solely 4 gamers on IR and have received 4 in a row, however dig deeper into these opponents.
You’ll discover that three have been at residence, and people wins have been towards groups that could possibly be described as mediocre: Falcons, Raiders, Browns, and Colts. And Nix hasn’t been nice the final two video games, throwing 5 interceptions and recording two of his lowest-rated QBR video games of the season.
If you assume the Broncos will win, they are going to have a bonus over the sixth seed and keep away from the Bills or Chiefs within the first spherical. The Chargers could possibly be enjoying desperately as a result of in the event that they lose and the Bengals win, Cincinnati has a reliable shot at overtaking them for the ultimate playoff spot.
And by “desperately” I imply trick performs, aggressive calls on fourth down – all of that.
If you do not like selecting sides, think about taking the Broncos to eight.5 or 9 and pairing them with a favourite just like the Bengals, who would drop to 1.
PICK: Chargers (-2.5) win by greater than 2.5 factors
Jason McIntyre is a FOX Sports betting analyst who additionally writes in regards to the NFL and NBA Draft. Before arriving at FOX, he created the web site The Big Lead. Follow him on Twitter @JasonRMcIntyre.
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