Thursday Night Football Preview Week 16: Denver Broncos @ Los Angeles Chargers NFL Best Bets and Top Props

Last week, Thursday Night Football was pretty brutal. The Los Angeles Rams edged out the San Francisco 49ers in a field goal fest that took place in an unexpected rain storm. We have much higher hopes for this week's game when the Denver Broncos hit the road to take on the Los Angeles Chargers in a game with a ton of playoff implications.

The weather had a massive impact on our bets last week, but this week we will look to get back on track and back to our winning ways. This should be a fun battle of AFC West rivals. Both of them are fighting to secure a playoff spot and improve their potential seeding. 

NFL Best Bets

These are two fairly evenly matched teams whose strength is on the defensive side of the ball. The Chargers are slightly inferior on both sides of the ball. On offense, they have a promising quarterback in Justin Herbert, who has all the physical gifts but has been a chronic underachiever. They didn't make it any easier on him this year when they stripped away his weapons and left him with rookie Ladd McConkey and not much else to speak of. 

On defense, the Chargers have taken a major step forward under new head coach Jim Harbaugh. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone. He is a great coach who has notoriously been defensive-minded and builds both sides of the ball in the trenches. The personnel isn't significantly better than it was last season, however, the coaching has made a huge difference.

Denver is led by a rookie quarterback who has far outperformed expectations. Bo Nix started off slow, then exploded onto the scene around mid-season. While he has hit a bit of a rookie wall as of late, he's still very competent and much better than your average rookie QB.

His weapons aren't anything special outside of Courtland Sutton, who is a solid target. Unfortunately, the running backs have been an abomination. Still, the offense has taken significant strides in the right direction over the course of the season. 

The Broncos' defense is loaded with talent and was always expected to be good this season. The pass defense is among the best in the league led by star cornerback Pat Surtain II and a defensive line who can get at the quarterback. The linebackers could be better, but injuries have taken a toll on the ILBs this season. Nevertheless, they are a tough defense to deal with. 

Still, this is a tough game to call. While Denver has been better, the Chargers always show up to compete and have home field for a Thursday Night Football matchup. This is one of the tougher games we've had to call this season. 

The Picks

Spread: Denver Broncos +3 (-118)
Over/Under: Under 41.5 (-112)
Moneyline: Denver Broncos (+124)

Player Props of the Night

Prop #1: Justin Herbert, Under 230.5 Passing Yards (-115)

We've already mentioned that Denver is a tough pass defense to deal with. They are a particularly bad matchup for the Chargers in this game. The main reason being that Herbert only has one legitimate weapon in McConkey. When the other team has Surtain, it's not great to lack a real second option.

To make matters worse, we also mentioned that Denver doesn't have the best linebackers, so it would make sense to attack them in the middle of the field with your tight end and running back. Unfortunately, tight end Will Dissly has been ruled out for this game. Even if all the weapons were healthy, Herbert hasn't managed to top 230 yards in his last four games and has only hit the mark five times all season.  

Prop #2: Kimani Vidal, Over 27.5 Rushing Yards (-120)

We are calling our shot here in saying this is the game that Vidal will officially begin to bypass Gus Edwards as the lead back in Los Angeles. The Chargers are desperately going to need someone to make plays in this game and that's simply not who Edwards is. The rookie is much more explosive and should be able to get to 28 yards in this game. If he doesn't, the Chargers are in big trouble. We are also predicting that Vidal will see double-digit carries for the first time in his young career. 

Prop #3: Courtland Sutton, Over 5.5 Receptions (+105)

Prior to a down game last week, Sutton had topped this line in six straight games. He's seen at least nine targets in seven straight games and has become Nix's go-to guy. This is a very favorable line especially if they are giving +odds.