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Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Chargers Betting Preview

A pair of teams going nowhere fast will both try to get back on the winning side of things in Week 14 as the Los Angeles Chargers host the Atlanta Falcons Sunday with kickoff at 4:25 p.m. EST. Despite being the road team, the Falcons are favored by 2.5 points, with the over/under for the game set at 49.5 points.

The good news for the Chargers is that it can’t get much worse than last week’s 45-0 loss to the New England Patriots. Los Angeles was dominated in all three phases and utterly humiliated by the final score. At 3-9, they still have a chance to avoid a last-place finish in the AFC West. On the other hand, the only teams they’ve beaten this season are the Bengals, Jaguars, and Jets.

As for the Falcons, they are technically in the hunt for a playoff spot at 4-8. Atlanta has played much better interim coach Raheem Morris. But two losses to the New Orleans Saints in the last three weeks has derailed some of their progress. If they win out, there is a chance the Falcons could sneak into the playoffs. With two games against the Buccaneers and a road game against the Kansas City Chiefs left on the schedule, the odds are against them.

Anyone Else

The Atlanta offense has clicked in recent weeks, provided the Falcons aren’t facing the Saints. They scored 43 points against the Raiders and 34 points against the Broncos, not to mention 40 points against the Vikings earlier this year. Matt Ryan is more than capable of getting the Atlanta offense rolling. However, injuries have played a role in recent weeks, with Todd Gurley and Julio Jones among the players listed as questionable this week while they battle injuries.

Of course, even a depleted Atlanta offense will be happy to face the Chargers this week. Win or lose, Los Angeles has given up a minimum of 27 points in nine straight games. Even if you took away New England’s two special teams touchdowns last week, the Patriots still topped that mark despite having less than 300 yards of total offense. Most weeks, the Chargers get bullied in the trenches and struggle to stop the run. However, the L.A. secondary is also banged up at the moment, leaving the door open to big plays in the passing game.

The First Setback

Despite a lack of team success, Justin Herbert has had an outstanding rookie season for the Chargers. Well, at least he was until last week when he completed less than half of his passes, averaged 3.9 yards per pass, and threw two picks against the Patriots. It was the first real setback that Herbert has experienced this season. With the L.A. rushing attack far too inconsistent, it’ll be up to Herbert to bounce back quickly if the Chargers hope to win this week.

While the Atlanta defense isn’t the best in the league, the Falcons have allowed just over 20 points per game since Morris took over as interim coach. Keep in mind Atlanta dominated the Raiders two weeks ago and gave a respectable effort in two games against New Orleans. However, the Falcons remain vulnerable against the run, one area where the Chargers will need to succeed.

The Flying Falcons

Even if the Chargers have a good response for last week’s disaster, they aren’t a winning team. The Falcons have at least proven that they can beat bad teams. Ryan and the Atlanta offense are a better bet than the Chargers, so pick Atlanta to win and cover.

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