The Monday Night Football twirl through the AFC West continues in Week 6 when the Denver Broncos visit the Los Angeles Chargers. If the matchup is anything close to what we saw between Las Vegas and Kansas City in Week 5 fans are in for a treat.
However they might want to temper the excitement since the Broncos have trouble scoring the football and managed just three field goals in a Week 5 loss to Indianapolis. It’s alarming how bad the Broncos have been since Russell Wilson was acquired to close the revolving door at quarterback. Denver is next to last in scoring and has played below the total in four of five games.
The Week 6 Monday Night Football contest between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA at 8:15 p.m. ET on October 17, 2022 and will be televised on ESPN.
Broncos vs Chargers Odds
Denver Broncos +4.5 ( +179 )
Los Angeles Chargers -4.5 ( -214 )
Over/Under 45.5
Odds Analysis
I don’t think the Broncos won over any bettors with their pitiful Week 5 Thursday night showing. Entering that contest as a 3-point home favorite, Denver managed three field goals losing 12-9 in overtime falling to 1-4 ATS. With the Chargers getting a majority of the action the line moved up a half-point with Denver at +4.5. And considering their injury woes we could see that spike again before kickoff. The Bolts are on the other end of the spread line covering as a 1-point favorite against Cleveland improving to 4-1 ATS. Considering Denver’s scoring struggles the total seems high at 45.5. But the Bolts have surrendered plenty of yards and points giving Wilson a chance to snap out his season-long slumber.
Denver Broncos
It’s not quite what the Broncos envisioned when acquiring Wilson. The team has gone through a number of QBs since Peyton Manning retired following the 2015 Super Bowl season and none of them has gotten the Broncos back to the postseason. With Wilson on board and some impressive weapons around him the offense was expected to be much better than it’s been. The Broncos scored more than 16 points just once and they still lost that game. It came to light recently that Wilson is dealing with a shoulder injury, something that could explain the shoddy numbers. Wilson is completing fewer than 60 percent of his passes with four TDs and three picks. The Broncos average 15 points, more than only Indianapolis.
Not only is Wilson playing through an injury, the Broncos also lost leading rusher Javonte Williams for the season and starting tackle Garrett Bolles was shelved. Thank goodness for the defense keeping them in games. The group was largely responsible for the Week 3 win over the 49ers allowing just 267 yards and recording a safety that turned out to be the deciding score. Denver owns the best pass defense allowing 176.6 yards through the air and will need to stop Justin Hebert to secure a win. They’ve done a good job so far cashing the UNDER in four of five games.
Los Angeles Chargers
If Brandon Staley makes any more goofy coaching decisions like he did last week the Bolts probably won’t be as fortunate. Leading by two points in the waning minutes, Staley elected to go for it on fourth down in his own territory. The Bolts were stopped setting the stage for the bonehead coaching call of the week. However, the Chargers escaped and Staley avoided further criticism when Cleveland’s kicker missed a potential game-winning 54-yard field goal. Sometimes it takes a game like that to reveal a team’s character. LA trailed by 14 points and eventually took the lead only to lose it again.
Most teams have effectively shut down Wilson and the Denver offense, but the Bolts are a huge question mark defensively. They rank 30th in points allowed and are 20th or worse in most major defensive stat categories. They’ll also be without pass rusher Joey Bosa as he recovers from an injury. The one weakness in Denver’s defense is against the run, something the Chargers can capitalize on with Austin Ekeler, who had 173 yards on 16 carries against the Browns. Neutralizing Denver’s defense with the run takes pressure of Herbert giving the Bolts the needed firepower to prevail.
Broncos vs Chargers Prediction
One bad game from Wilson and the offense could be fluke, but several mean a trend, and it’s not a good one. The Chargers have struggled stopping teams meaning we’ll likely see a little more from the Broncos, and the Bolts can definitely light it up with Herbert at the helm. I would have liked the total to be a little lower, but I’m backing the OVER anyway and I just can’t trust the Broncos at this point.
Prediction: Los Angeles Chargers -4.5 / OVER 45.5
