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The Denver Broncos’ playoff hopes are basically gone and the Los Angeles Chargers’ chances will be too if they lose Sunday at home in this AFC West rivalry. The Chargers are solid favorites on the NFL odds.

How to Bet Broncos at Chargers NFL Odds & TV Info

When: Sunday, 4:05 PM ET
Where: SoFi Stadium
TV: CBS
Radio: http://www.siriusxm.com/nfl
Stream Option: NFLSUNDAYTICKET.TV
Opening NFL Lines: Chargers -6.5 (total 46)

First Meeting

In Week 12, the Chargers lost 28-13 in Denver as short favorites. Denver rookie cornerback Patrick Surtain II picked off Justin Herbert twice, returning the second one 70 yards for a touchdown. Surtain reached a top speed of 22.07 mph on his pick-6, according to Next Gen Stats, the fastest by a defensive back with the ball in his hands in the last five years. Surtain’s first interception came in the end zone on a pass intended for tight end Jared Cook early in the fourth quarter. The Broncos converted that takeaway into a touchdown when Teddy Bridgewater hit tight end Eric Saubert from 9 yards to make it 21-7. Herbert finished 28 for 44 for 303 yards and two TDs with two interceptions and three sacks.

Why Bet on Denver?

The Broncos must win to avoid their fifth straight losing season. It would be their longest such streak since 1963-1972, a run that includes their last seven years in the AFL and first three years in the NFL. The Broncos were squarely in the AFC playoff hunt at 6-5 when December began, but have lost three of the past four games, having scored 10 and 13 points in their past two losses.

Denver’s playoff chances are almost nil following last week’s 17-13 loss in Las Vegas. With starting QB Teddy Bridgewater out injured, backup Drew Lock completed 15-of-22 passes for 153 yards. Lock avoided the back-breaking mistakes that have plagued his tenure in Denver but did so at the expense of putting points on the board.

Javonte Williams rushed seven times for 12 yards and a touchdown. The Raiders‘ defensive front dominated Denver. Williams and Melvin Gordon combined for eight rushing yards on 14 attempts.

With Bridgewater still in the concussion protocol, Lock will start again. Ten different quarterbacks have started games for the team since 2016 and the team hasn’t averaged more than 23 points per game since 2014 — the Broncos have averaged 19.9 points this season. One negative in Lock’s performance were his throws short of the sticks in conversion situations, which helped to limit the team’s production.

“I’d just like to see our offense improve, which Drew is a major part of,” Coach Vic Fangio said of his hopes for Lock in his second start. “We have to throw it better and more efficiently and complete more balls. Our first- and second-down operation has to be better, both in the run and pass. We need to get some balance back into our offense, both equally effective whether running or throwing.”

Inside linebacker Kenny Young (concussion), cornerback Ronald Darby (shoulder), safety Kareem Jackson (back/shoulder) and outside linebacker Stephen Weatherly (illness) are in some question this week.

Why Bet on LA Chargers?

The Chargers suffered a crushing 41-29 upset loss at awful Houston last week and now face a major uphill climb to make the playoffs – they have to win out and get help. Outside linebacker Joey Bosa, running back Austin Ekeler, receiver Mike Williams and center Corey Linsley were among the major contributors on the COVID-19 list for LA (8-7).

With Ekeler out against the Texans, the Chargers called on Justin Jackson to step up as the Bolts’ lead back. The fourth year running back stepped up in a big way for the second-straight week by putting up a career day in Houston. Jackson totaled 162 scrimmage yards and set career highs with two touchdowns, eight receptions and 98 receiving yards. Ekeler leads the Chargers with 789 rushing yards and has 17 total touchdowns (10 rushing, 7 receiving).

Making his 30th career start, Chargers QB Justin Herbert passed for 336 yards on Sunday. Herbert has 8,730 career passing yards and surpassed Dan Marino (8,467 passing yards) for the third-most passing yards by a player in his first 30 career starts in NFL history. Only Patrick Mahomes (9,238 passing yards) and Kurt Warner (8,739) had more.

Herbert ranks second in the league with 4,394 passing yards and tied for fourth with 33 touchdown passes. With at least 270 passing yards on Sunday, Herbert will become the second-fastest player ever to reach 9,000 passing yards, surpassing Warner (32 games). Only Mahomes (30) reached the mark in fewer games.

While the Chargers were very short-handed last week, they should get nearly everyone back off the COVID list by Sunday. Bosa leads the Chargers with 9.5 sacks this season and he’s back. After missing four games due to his second concussion of the season, the Bolts got rookie cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. back in their secondary against the Texans.

The Bolts hold a 35-26 regular-season home record against Denver. The Chargers have posted 20-plus points in 10 of the past 15 home contests against the Broncos.