With this being the final week of the 2015-16 NFL Regular Season and Week 17 we are previewing what we think are some of the best scheduled for this week, and one being the 4-11 San Diego Chargers (AFC-West) playing their rivals the 11-4 Denver Broncos (AFC-West) with the g me being played at the Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado with the kick-off scheduled for 4:30 PM ET and seen on CBS TV.
If you Bet on NFL football at an sportsbook the odds are favoring the Broncos at -9 with the Over/under at 41 ½ and -400 on the Money Line, while the listed underdogs the San Diego Chargers are at +- and +325 on the Money Line.
The Broncos come into this final Week 17 have clinched a spot in the playoffs with their victory over the Bengals last Monday. If they win this game and the Patriots lose, then the Broncos would seal a t op seed in the AFC in this final week of play for the NFL Regular Season. Keep in mind that even as the Charger have struggled this season, they still are a team to beat, and who is seeking a victory in this final Week 17.
If you’re a fan of the 4-11 San Diego Chargers, it’s time for your team to make a comeback to the winning column, after a tough OT defeat last week to the Raiders of Oakland 23-20. That loss gave them 7 losses this season that could easily have just as well been victories, and the 3rd game of those 7 games that they lost by a field goal to date.
It has seemed that the Chargers offense has had difficulty getting it all together this season, with QB P. Rivers performing as usual as in that last game with the Raiders he completed some 31 of his 49 passing attempts for 270 yards and with no interceptions in the game. But, as mention their rushing game dwindles with the RB’s have a mere 25 carries for a small 71 yards rushing.
Their star RB D. Woodhead had 11 carries for just 55 yards but performed better as a receiver as he had 8 receptions for 54 yards and he created several 1st downs with his receptions. The Chargers now rank at the bottom in the NFL for their running game of a league’s worst 83 yards each game, but rank 4th with some 293 yards passing in each game in 2015 to date.
If the Chargers are to have a chance of winning this game, their QB Rivers will have to have an incredible successful day with his passing game, against a strong Broncos defense, and overcome their Week 13 loss to the Broncos 17-3 where they only managed to score on a field goal in the game.
It’s expected that the Broncos offense will give the Chargers defense that is suffering injuries at CB and Safety more than they bargained for. The Chargers OL is also suffering from injuries with OL O. Franklin and T. Robinson both having concussions in their game with the Raiders. Those injuries will more than likely see the Broncos rush happy defense and that’s not good news for Chargers QB Rivers and their passing game in this match-up!
Now the fans of the 11-4 Denver Broncos realize their defense saved them in their last win over the Bengals of Cincinnati in their 20-17 OT win last Monday, since their DE D. Ware forced the Bengals QB A. McCarron into fumbling and the Broncos recovered the fumble that ended the game.
Offensively the Broncos and back-up QB B. Osweiler seems to be playing well, but still needs to score more point in his passing attempts. In that last game he completed 27 of his 39 passes for 278 yards and just 1 TD. In the 6 games he has started since taking over for QB P. Manning he has only had 2 games in which he scored more than 1 TD in his passing game.
But with luck, the Broncos RB’s in C. Anderson and R. Hillman are performing well , as they had a combined 18 carries for 110 rushing yards and 1 TD in that last game with the Bengals. Regardless it’s still the Broncos defense that has made the a team to reckon with this season, as the rank tops as they are allowing less that 200 yards passing each game, and that same defense should be able to halt the Charger QB Rivers and their passing game this Sunday.
The one area where the Broncos have struggled is in their kicking game, since their kicker B. McManus missed a easy FG attempt of 45 yards before the game ended that could have won the game, and in his ultimate 5 games this season he has missed a least 1 FG in those same games. Thus if the Chargers can stay in the game, then kicker McManus needs to step up and be ready to kick a game winning FG for the Broncos in this game.
The online sportsbook prediction for this Week 17 Final game for the Broncos and Chargers will see the Broncos perform well both offensively and defensively while the Chargers struggle and the Broncos win the game 27-15!