We have reached the business end of the NFL 2023 season with week 15 beginning on Thursday night but we have to wait a while for anything that matters to come along as the Las Vegas Raiders host the Los Angeles Chargers.
These two AFC West rivals will have been hoping to push for a wildcard spot this season but with them both 5-8 for the year and having to utilise backup quarterbacks those aims have gone up in smoke so pride is all that is at stake here.
Las Vegas Raiders
A few weeks ago the Las Vegas Raiders were looking in position to pounce for a wildcard spot in the AFC when they sat 5-5 for their season but just when they needed to push on and make their presence known they have gone the other way and three successive defeats have all but ended their campaign as a competitive entity. To be fair to them, they have lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and the Minnesota Vikings, none of which are terrible losses, but they came at the wrong time.
It should be said though that they were particularly bad against the Minnesota Vikings last week. It was a match they lost 3-0 which immediately suggests how much their offense struggled. They didn’t even have a shot at a field goal in that loss to the Vikings so that says everything we need to know. The fact that Josh Jacobs is rated as questionable for this game is less than ideal with that in mind so if the Raiders are going to win this one you sense their defence will have to do a lot of the graft.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account and bet £10 to get up to £20 in free bets! Perfect offer for the NFL! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers were also in a position where they could kick on and book a playoff spot a few weeks ago. They were 4-4 for their year and seemingly in a good place to show what they had to offer but the exact opposite has happened. Since then they have lost four out of five matches with the solitary win in that time coming against the New England Patriots who are going nowhere fast these days. At 5-8, the Bolts are playing out time on their season.
The big problem for the Chargers is that Justin Herbert picked up a season ending injury last week so the Bolts will go into battle for the remainder of the campaign with Easton Stick delivering the plays and he is yet to start a game in the NFL so a short week of preparation for a divisional clash on national TV feels like a big occasion for the inexperienced trigger man. Los Angeles might be able to keep it tight but they’ll need someone on offense to deliver and that won’t be Keenan Allen because he is injured.
Betting
This isn’t an easy match to bet on when looking at the spread of the points line. We have two backup quarterbacks on show here and a couple of pretty good defences but the bookmakers have the line for the under/over very cramped and you would only need a defensive touchdown or big play in the opposing red zone and that would come under threat. It is hard to know who to trust from the quarterbacks so I’ll go down the route of a player bet.
The bet I like comes in the form of the receiving yards of Austin Ekeler where the line of 29 yards looks a little on the low side to me. The Las Vegas Raiders defence is pretty good but the one area it does struggle is containing running backs in the passing game and you would imagine the check down to the running back is a pretty routine play for a quarterback who is likely to be nervous and under a fair bit of pressure. He covered this line in both matches against the Raiders last season and has caught five passes in two of his last three games. If he catches five more here he should breeze towards 30 yards in the air.
Tips
Back A.Ekeler – Over 29 receiving yards for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with BetVictor
