Chargers vs. Tennessee Titans: Betting odds, lines and picks against the spread
For the first time in nearly two months, the Chargers and Rams won during the same week. Before Week 14, you had to go back to Week 6 to find the last time the L.A. teams both won. Ironically, they both won in SoFi Stadium both of those weeks, leaving two clean sweeps in three opportunities (Week 1). Maybe one of them just needs to play on Thursday or Monday at home every week going forward.
This week, the Rams play on Monday, in Green Bay. The Chargers are at home on Sunday and have an excellent chance at a huge win for their playoff hopes.
Tennessee Titans at Chargers (-3, 47)
Justin Herbert’s huge game came at the right time last week, as the No. 6 pick in the 2020 NFL draft overshadowed the No. 5 pick. Tua Tagovailoa looked lost most of the game, while Herbert excelled, throwing for a season-high 367 yards with a touchdown and no picks. As great as Herbert’s stat line was, though, the Chargers converted his 51 pass attempts and season-high 39 completions into only 23 points.
This has been an ongoing problem for the Chargers, who rank 28th in red zone efficiency. Herbert threw for 335 yards in Week 13 and the Chargers converted that into only 20 points in the loss to the Raiders. Not having Keenan Allen and/or Mike Williams for large chunks of the season has not helped in that regard, but they’re both back. Williams had six catches for 116 yards last week and a touchdown, while Allen had 14 targets for the second straight week and hauled in 12 of them for 92 yards.
The return of center Corey Linsley was more important than anything, as he was able to clear concussion protocol. With the band back together on offense, the Chargers have to show improvement in the scoring areas this week and going forward, especially if they want to be a playoff threat.
The Chargers seem to be in a three-way battle with the New York Jets and New England Patriots for the final playoff spot in the AFC, and L.A. seems to have the most favorable schedule.
This game has the chance to be a second straight confidence booster for a defense that has gone through the ringer this season. The Chargers are a bad defense by virtually any metric. Injuries haven’t helped, but the Chargers are also 32nd in yards per carry allowed and grade poorly in most advanced stats. This week, however, they draw an offense that ranks 27th in EPA/play (expected points added) since offensive coordinator Todd Downing was fired following his DUI arrest. On the whole, the Titans are 26th in rush EPA, despite having some guy named Derrick Henry.
The Titans are a great defense against the run, but that helps only so much against the Chargers. This should be another opportunity for Herbert to put up big numbers and a chance for the defense to shine against an offense that fails to generate big plays.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
