Monday Night Football Odds, Picks & Predictions: Chargers vs. Colts (Week 16)

Monday night’s game between the Indianapolis Colts  (4-9-1) and Los Angeles Chargers (8-6) will be the final one of Week 16’s schedule, with kickoff at Lucas Oil Stadium scheduled for 8:15 PM ET.

On Sunday, the Chargers defeated the Tennessee Titans 17-14 at home as  3-point favorites when the game finished in push, with LA winning 17-1. With the win, the Chargers have won three of their last four games and two in a row. The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 in overtime, with Indy covering the 3.5-point spread. But they squandered a 33-0 advantage, allowing the largest comeback in NFL history, and have now dropped 7 of their last 8 games and four in a row.

Let’s take a closer look at if the forward momentum will continue this week.

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

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Details

• Opening Line: Colts +3 | O/U 47.5
• Current Line: Colts +3.5 | O/U 46.5
• Last meeting: Sept. 8, 2019 – Colts 24, Chargers 30 (OT)

Overview

Monday night’s game between the Indianapolis Colts  (4-9-1) and Los Angeles Chargers (8-6) will be the final one of Week 16’s schedule, with kickoff at Lucas Oil Stadium scheduled for 8:15 PM ET.

On Sunday, the Chargers defeated the Tennessee Titans 17-14 at home as  3-point favorites when the game finished in push, with LA winning 17-1. With the win, the Chargers have won three of their last four games and two in a row.

The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 in overtime, with Indy covering the 3.5-point spread. But they squandered a 33-0 advantage, allowing the largest comeback in NFL history, and have now dropped 7 of their last 8 games and four in a row.

Ahead of Week 16, the Los Angeles Chargers are in a good place. When the Bolts lost to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 13, sitting at 6-6, things seemed gloomy for the team. However, the squad bounced back from that defeat to overcome the Titans and the Dolphins in back-to-back weeks, advancing to the playoffs.

The Chargers might possibly win a postseason spot in Week 16 as a result, as they are now the sixth seed in the AFC. To secure a position that early, a lot of things would need to occur, but the Chargers will be in excellent shape as long as they win.

Jonathan Taylor probably won’t participate in the game for the Colts, making one of the weakest teams in the league, Indy, even worse. That unquestionably affected the betting odds on this one. Since the Taylor announcement, in addition to the line move, the game’s point total has also decreased. We now have one of the lowest lines the Chargers have had all season at 46.5 points.

Bottom Line

The Chargers come into the final weeks of the season knowing anything can happen in this league, having experienced exactly this against the Houston Texans in the final weeks of last season.  That being said, a loss for the LA Chargers in this contest would be disastrous.

The Colts, who have an analyst as their head coach and compete for draft positioning, are one of the worst teams in the league. It is difficult to imagine Indy’s offense producing anything noteworthy without Taylor.

Taking a closer look, the Colts’ defense does contain a few studs, especially along the defensive line. The cover 3 defense, which is Gus Bradley’s go-to approach, has historically been difficult for this offense to handle.

While I like the Chargers to run away with this one, the under makes the most sense.

Pick: Under 46.5

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