The Denver Broncos and the Los Angeles Chargers meet in week 14 NFL action from SoFi Stadium on Sunday afternoon. We have a good, old-fashioned AFC West division rivalry matchup on Sunday, who comes out on top? Let’s take a look and give out a Broncos vs. Chargers Prediction.
Denver Broncos Team Preview
The Denver Broncos come into this one looking to bounce back from a 22-17 loss to Houston last time out. Russell Wilson has thrown for 2,385 yards, 21 touchdowns and 7 interceptions on 67.5% passing while Javonte Williams has a team-high 584 rushing yards and Jaleel McLaughlin has 296 rushing yards as well. Courtland Sutton leads Denver’s receiving group with 50 catches for 637 yards and 9 touchdowns while Jerry Jeudy has 491 receiving yards and Samaje Perine has 342 receiving yards. Marvin Mims Jr. has 287 receiving yards and another three Broncos have 100+ receiving yards on the year. On defense, Alex Singleton leads Denver with 122 total tackles while Nik Bonitto has a team-high 7 sacks and Jonathon Cooper has 5.5 sacks. Justin Simmons also has 3 interceptions for Denver this season.
Denver Broncos Team Facts
- The Broncos have lost each of their last 11 road games against AFC West opponents.
- The Broncos have failed to cover the spread in each of their last six Sunday games played on the West Coast.
- The Broncos have lost the first half in each of their last five Sunday road games.
- The home team has won the first quarter in seven of the Broncos’ last eight games.
- Each of the Broncos’ last six December road games against AFC West opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.
Los Angeles Chargers Team Preview
The Los Angeles Chargers come into this one looking to build on their 6-0 win over the Patriots last time out to improve to 5-7 on the year. Justin Herbert has thrown for 3,038 yards, 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions on 65.6% passing while Austin Ekeler has a team-high 446 rushing yards with 4 touchdowns and Joshua Kelley has 376 rushing yards as well on the year. Keenan Allen leads the Chargers’ receiving group with 102 grabs for 1,175 yards and 7 touchdowns this season. On defense, Kenneth Murray Jr. has a team-high 88 total tackles while Khalil Mack has a team-high 15 sacks and Joey Bosa has 6.5 sacks.
Los Angeles Chargers Team Facts
- The home team has won each of the last seven games between the Broncos and Chargers.
- The favorites have covered the spread in eight of the Chargers’ last nine games.
- The Chargers have scored the first touchdown in each of their last six Week 14 games.
- The Chargers have won the first half in nine of their last 10 home games against AFC West opponents.
- The Chargers have lost the first quarter in three of their last four games as favorites following a road win.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Chargers rank 1st in the NFL in punt return yards per game this season (26.3).
- The Chargers rank 31st in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game this season (265.8).
- The Broncos rank 32nd in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game this season (149.7).
- The Broncos rank 1st in the NFL in fumbles recovered this season (12).
Broncos vs. Chargers Prediction
I’m on the Broncos here. I just don’t have much of any high hopes for the Chargers after last week and the Broncos simply ran out of luck after being so lucky for as long as they were on that winning run. The Chargers just didn’t look good against the Patriots, and I don’t necessarily trust them to have much more success with Keenan Allen banged up and Austin Ekeler not really being all that effective up to this point. Give me the Broncos and the free field goal.