The Kansas City Chiefs (4-5) travel to take on the San Diego Chargers (2-7) with the Chiefs’ three-game win streak on the line. The NFL’s second-leading passer, Philip Rivers (3,033 yards, 19 TDs), will be a player to watch in this game. It will air Sunday, Nov 22 at 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS.
This week marks the first time the AFC West rivals have met this season. Kansas City notched wins in both of last year’s games. Manti Te’o led the Chargers defensive effort in the last meeting, recording nine tackles. Justin Houston led the defensive effort for Kansas City, recording six tackles and four sacks.
The Chiefs take on the Chargers as a three-point favorite this week. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 46 points.
Sitting at 2-7 Straight Up (SU) and 3-6 Against The Spread (ATS), the Chargers will look to improve heading into Week 11. In their five most recent matchups, the Chargers went 0-5 SU and 2-3 ATS. A focal point of San Diego’s offense is its passing game, which ranks first in the league with 328.7 passing yards per game. The Chargers are the best in the league at scoring in the fourth quarter of home games, averaging 12.4 points. With the fifth-highest time of possession per game at 32:39, expect San Diego to control the clock this week.
Shifting to the opposition, the Chiefs head into Week 11 with records of 4-5 for both ATS and SU. Over their last five games, the Chiefs have a SU and ATS record of 3-2. Offensively, they may score often against the Chargers, who are one of the worst home scoring defenses in the league at 27.6 points per game. Odds are in favor of Kansas City continuing to rely on its run game against a defense that allows 122.9 rushing yards per game, ranking 26th in the league. Moving on to the Kansas City defense, there are certain areas where it measures up well against the Chargers. The front seven for the Chiefs will be looking to shut down the weak rushing attack of the Chargers, which ranks 30th in the league with an average of 85.2 rushing yards per game. The San Diego offensive line should be ready for a tough test this week as the Chiefs get to opposing quarterbacks with ease. The Chiefs defense is currently fifth in the league with an average of 2.9 sacks per game. The Chargers will have to stay focused in the second quarter against Kansas City. The Chiefs finish off the first half with intensity, averaging 9.4 points during the second quarter. Kansas City has put in some strong special teams performances this season. The team has averaged 98.4 return yards per game, ranking fifth in the NFL.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, ATS Winner – KC, O/U – Under
Notes
San Diego is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games.
San Diego is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games.
San Diego is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home.
San Diego is 1-9 ATS in its last 10 games at home.
San Diego is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games when playing Kansas City.
San Diego is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Kansas City.
Kansas City is 4-1 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. San Diego is 1-2 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
San Diego is only 1-5 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and an even 1-1 SU when losing the turnover battle.
Since the beginning of last season, Kansas City is an even 4-4 SU against AFC West opponents, while San Diego is just 2-5 SU against division foes.
Kansas City is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 11th-ranked rushing attack will face the 26th-ranked run defense of San Diego, while its eighth-ranked run defense will look to contain the 30th-ranked rushing game of the Chargers.
San Diego has allowed 27.6 points per game at home this year, which ranks it only 26th in the league. Kansas City has scored 23.0 points per game on the road (ranked 13th overall).
