Our Los Angeles Chargers vs. Denver Broncos prediction takes a look at the Week 18 matchup that features a strong AFC West rivalry. Let’s dive into the current NFL betting odds, key storylines to watch, and make a prediction for the game. Note that all odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook as of Tuesday, Jan. 3.
Chargers vs. Broncos Odds
- Spread
Chargers -3.5 - Moneyline
Chargers -170, Broncos +145 - Over/Under
40.5 points
Chargers vs. Broncos Prediction
It’s interesting to look back just a month ago and unearth the conversations that were taking place in the NFL media about Brandon Staley and his future as the Chargers’ head coach.
LA was 6-6 at the time and had fallen well short of expectations, at that time, based on the moves the Chargers had made this past offseason to load up for a championship run. Since that point, however, Los Angeles has rattled off four straight wins and have locked up a spot in the 2022 NFL postseason.
MORE: Chiefs vs. Raiders Prediction, Odds, and Picks for Week 18
Looking ahead to Week 18, it’ll be interesting to see if Staley chooses to give his team some much-needed rest. This Chargers team has dealt with an insane amount of injuries over the course of this season, and some time off before their Wild Card Weekend matchup could be beneficial.
The Chargers are locked into a playoff spot, but they won’t be able to catch Kansas City within the division. So there’s not much incentive to risk injury to your starters to secure a victory this week.
If they can continue to allow some key players time to get back fully healthy for the playoffs — plus potentially even Rashawn Slater — this team could make some noise in the postseason.
As for the Broncos, last week was the first game in the post-Nathaniel Hackett era, and it wasn’t a terrible performance. The Broncos were able to keep things tight until the near end with the Chiefs and just narrowly lost by a score of 27-24.
Obviously, things have not gone the way that Denver had hoped going into the season. That’s safe to assume anytime you end up firing your first-year head coach before the season is over. However, this performance from the team in Week 17 gives some confidence for the fan base moving forward.
Were the issues concentrated to Hackett because he wasn’t ready to take on an NFL head coaching gig? If so, that can easily be remedied by getting the next hire right and getting this talented roster back on track. A strong performance here from Denver’s offense in Week 18 could go a long way to making this an attractive destination for a top-tier coaching candidate.
This game doesn’t mean anything for the Broncos in 2022. It means everything for their future in 2023 and beyond, though. If they can come out firing and potentially prove that their offensive woes this season were correlated to coaching more than anything else, Denver could reel in the big coaching hire that they want this offseason.
Chargers vs. Broncos Score Prediction
Broncos 20, Chargers 14