To close out the 2018 season, the Denver Broncos were 4-point underdogs to the Chargers. The spread has changed to 6.5 points.
The Broncos host the Los Angeles Chargers in Denver in week 17, and to nobody’s surprise, they are placed as the underdog.
Denver was a four-point underdog to Los Angeles immediately after the Broncos lost to the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football.
But that has changed to 6.5-points. The reason? Likely because of the injury to star running back Phillip Lindsay. Lindsay suffered a wrist injury that will require surgery and knock him out 4-6 months.
Out of all of the injuries to the Broncos this season, Lindsay’s hurts the most. Not only because we won’t get to see him play the final game of his rookie season, but because the injury happened so late and the duration of the recovery is so long.
OddsShark predicts the final score at 23.9-20.4.
The Broncos are projected to outgain the Chargers in the following categories:
Rushing Yards: 121.67-117.13
Number of Plays: 62.73-59.33
Denver will have running backs Royce Freeman and Devontae Booker in place of Lindsay. The team will miss Lindsay’s explosiveness but getting Freeman more experience is pretty important.
The Los Angeles Chargers are projected to outgain the Broncos in the following categories:
Total Score: 27.00-21.33
Passing Yards: 261.93-227.13
Time on Field: 30:52-28:46
Yards Per Play: 6.39-5.56
A lot has gone wrong for Denver this season and it is only fitting that they become underdogs again, to close out the 2018 season.
They have had a rollercoaster of a season. They lost to some not-so-good teams, but also came up with victories against quality opponents. It is very confusing.
But, as we know, the Broncos are playing to get a win even though it will not have any effect on their chances of making the postseason. They were obviously eliminated already.
Hopefully, the team does much better in 2019 with new faces leading the team. A lot will need to be done for the Broncos to stop being unappreciated.