NFL Week 15 Sports Betting – San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
The San Diego Chargers (5-8 SU, 5-7-1 ATS) still have playoff hopes, feint as they are. On Sunday they will square off against the Kansas City Chiefs (2-11 SU, 7-6 ATS) in an AFC West game in NFL pro football sports betting action that is scheduled to get underway at 1 PM ET at Arrowhead Stadium (natural turf) in Kansas City.
In the BetUS NFL football betting odds, the Chargers are listed as a 5.5-point favorite, with a posted total of 45.5 points.
BetUS NFL betting odds: SAN DIEGO -5.5, Total 45.5
NOTABLE STAT: Kansas City has allowed five yards per rushing attempt
KEY NFL FOOTBALL BETTING TREND: Chiefs are 2-9 ATS in last 11 at home
Here is some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* SD has covered two of its last seven games
* SD has lost five of its last seven games SU
* SD has played four of its last five games UNDER the total
* SD has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* KC has covered five of its last seven games
* KC has lost 20 of its last 22 games SU
* KC has lost 10 of its last 11 home games SU
* KC has covered two of its last 11 home games
* KC has played four of its last five home games OVER the total
Also…
* KC has covered four of the last six meetings
* SD has won six of the last nine meetings SU
* Six of the last eight meetings have gone UNDER the total
* KC has won nine of the last eleven meetings SU as the home team
The Chiefs have made things a little more entertaining on offense than they otherwise would have been, as Tyler Thigpen has apparently replaced Brodie Croyle as the team’s “quarterback of the future” and brings some wrinkles to this offense, not the least of which is a spread setup. Thigpen has a respectable 14-8 ratio of TD passes to interceptions, and 1926 yards passing in what is, in effect, his first real NFL season. Tony Gonzalez and Dwayne Bowe may both top 1000 yards receiving (they combined for 169 yards last week against Denver). And Larry Johnson has 4.5 yards a carry.
An encouraging sign is that previously when the Chiefs visited San Diego, Thigpen rolled up 26 yards passing with three TD’s, and Kansas City lost only because it could not make a two-point conversion at the very end. Gonzalez seems to get up for games with the Chargers, as he’s averaged 103 yards over the last five meetings.
Of course, there’s another side to this coin. The Chiefs have lost ten of their last 11 home games, covering just two of them. They allow five yards per rushing attempt. They allowed 27 first downs in last week’s loss to Denver. They find ways to lose. And after the 20-19 near-miss in this season’s first meeting, they aren’t sneaking up on San Diego, which regards this as a must-game, since in the weak AFC West, the Broncos are still within reach.
The Chiefs’ pass rush does not exist (six sacks). And Phillip Rivers has managed to keep his jersey relatively clean (just 19 sacks) while hitting 64% of his passes for 26 touchdowns. He’s had a Pro Bowl season, even if LaDanian Tomlinson (885 yards, 3.7 ypc) hasn’t. With just two 100-yard games, L.T. isn’t his old self, although 91 yards against the Raiders was encouraging.
Obviously this isn’t the Charger team we’ve come to know over the last couple of seasons. Shawne Merriman’s absence has had something to do with it. And Norv Turner, though getting a vote of confidence, still can’t be completely confident in his future. But a killer instinct in this team still remains, as evidenced by the 372-163 yardage margin in the 34-7 win over Oakland. They rationalize that they are playing for something. And the Chiefs don’t have a home field advantage. Lay the points with San Diego, the 5.5-point favorite in the BetUS NFL pro football sports betting odds.
