Chargers Chiefs Line

Written by Steve Janus

Monday Night Football will feature the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the San Diego Chargers for the AFC West lead. The Chiefs come in off a 28-0 blowout win at Oakland. The Chiefs have won three straight, improving to 3-3 after opening the season 0-3. One of those losses was against the Chargers, 17-20 at San Diego. The Chargers fell 21-27 at New York, pushing their overall record to 4-2. If Kansas City can find a way to win this game, it would create a 3-way tie for first in the division, as the Raiders sit at 4-3 on their bye week.

Taking a look at the week 8 NFL lines, oddsmakers have the Chargers favored by 3.5-points over the Chiefs with the total set at 44 points.

San Diego Chargers:

The Chargers jumped out to a 21-10 halftime lead against the Jets last week, but were shutout 17-0 in the final two periods to lose the game. While the Chargers are 4-2 and leading the division, they have not played close to their potential so far this season. Only one of their wins came by more than a touchdown, and that was against the winless Miami Dolphins (26-16).

The biggest problem for the Chargers has been the surprisingly poor play of quarterback Phillip Rivers. Against the Jets, Rivers completed just 16 of 32 for 179 yards with one touchdown to two interceptions. The two picks give him nine interceptions to just seven touchdowns on the season. Rivers threw for 266 yards against the Chiefs earlier this season, but finished that game with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Until he starts taking care of the football, this team is going to keep struggling to win games.

The most consistent weapon for the Chargers this season has been running back Ryan Mathews, despite totaling just 65 total yards against the Jets. Mathews rushed for 98 yards and two scores and caught four passes for 51 yards against the Chiefs earlier this season. He leads the team with 452 rushing yards and three scores and is third on the team with 287 receiving yards and four touchdowns .

One positive for the Chargers in the loss to the Jets was the play of tight end Antonio Gates, who returned to action for the first time since week 2. Gates caught a team-high five passes for 54 yards and touchdown. However, star wide out Vincent Jackson had just one catch for 15 yards.

Kansas City Chiefs:

A lot of people were writing off the Chiefs after they opened the season with three straight losses, but this team has really turned things around despite a number of key injuries. The Chiefs are going to come into this game with a ton of confidence, especially against a San Diego team they felt they should have beat earlier in the season. I also expect this team to really feed off what should be a loud and enthusiastic home crowd.

The Chiefs defense took advantage of the Raiders quarterback problems by intercepting six passes last week, including two that were returned for touchdowns. While the final score looks like the Chiefs played a dominant defensive game, the Raiders actually outgained the Chiefs 322 to 300 in total yards. Not only was Oakland without their starting quarterback Jason Campbell, but star running back Darren McFadden was injured in the first quarter and didn’t return.

What really concerns me about Kansas City’s performance last week, is they managed to score just 28 points off those six interceptions. Matt Cassel was just 15 of 30 for 161 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Jackie Battle led the way with 76 rushing yards, giving him 195 yards in two starts. He could be the difference maker in this game, as he had just one carry for two yards in the first meeting between these two teams.

The other player the Chiefs need to have a big game is wide out Dwayne Bowe. The Pro Bowl wide out had six catches for 76 yards against the Raiders, and hauled in four passes for 67 yards and a touchdown against the Chargers back in week 3. Steve Breaston has really came on strong opposite of Bowe, but keep an eye out for rookie Jonathan Baldwin who made his season debut against the Raiders last week.

Betting Trends:

San Diego is 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games as a road favorite.

Kansas City is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog.

Be sure to stop back and check out who Steve Janus has picked to win this week in the NFL.

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