Los Angeles Chargers vs Kansas City Chiefs Betting Odds and Previews

The top two teams in the AFC West will go at it Thursday night as Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs host the LA Chargers, who have quietly held rank among the best teams in the NFL this season. Be sure to check out our online NFL sportsbook and make your picks for this big matchup!

While the Chiefs sit atop the division at 11-2, the Chargers are right behind them at 10-3, so a Charger win could go a long way in unseating the Chiefs and disrupting the narrative of who is the best team in the AFC. The Chiefs still own the tiebreaker, thanks to their better record within the division.

These two teams met in the season opener, which Kansas City won. But that was back when RB Kareem Hunt was still playing. Hunt has since been dismissed from the team because of a domestic incident.

The Chiefs will have the added incentive of being able to lock up home-field advantage in the playoffs. After New England, Pittsburgh and Houston all lost last week, the Chiefs now sit atop the entire conference, and a win on Thursday will give them the distance they need to lock up the top spot.

To do so, the Chiefs will count on another marvelous performance by MVP candidate Patrick Mahomes. He is coming off a 377-yard performance last week against Baltimore, who has one of the top defenses in the league. Mahomes has a total of 43,000 passing yards on the season along with 43 touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Chargers Coach Anthony Lynn says his group is prepared as they can be for the Chiefs.

"We are familiar with this group, but there are so many things that it is never easy going up against Kansas City." Lynn said, "We have a lot to prepare for, it is more of a mental week."

The Chargers are also getting a standout performance from their QB this season. Veteran Philip Rivers has 28 touchdowns on the season and a passer rating of 114.5. Rivers has found considerable success with WR Keenan Can, who has TDs in five straight games and has a total of 88 catches for 1,014 yards this year.

They will hope to be helped out on offense by the return of RB Melvin Gordon, who has missed the last two weeks because of an MCL injury. Prior to going down, Gordon was having the best season of his young career with 802 yards rushing and 13 TDs. Gordon did not practice on Monday, but there are rumors that he may suit up for Thursday's game.

Coach Reid said that no matter who starts on Thursday, they will have to be ready.

"This is a game that we need, and whoever we put on the field, they need to be ready to play."

The Chiefs have won the last nine meetings against the Chargers, including this year's season opener. Both teams are 4-1-0 in their previous five games, and both are solidly in the playoff picture, with the Chiefs atop the division and the Chargers with a three-game lead on all the other wild card teams. The Chargers have only lost one game in their last 10. Coincidentally, these two teams played a mid-December prime time game for the AFC lead last year as well; with both sides holding a 7-6 record, the Chiefs beat the Chargers 30-13 in that matchup and went on to win the division title.