Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 16

Previewing this week's Thursday Night Football from a fantasy and sports betting perspective

Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 16 Last week’s NFC West showdown was a rain-soaked dud with zero touchdowns. On the surface, this week’s AFC West game looks like another low-scoring snoozer. However, with major playoff implications at stake, FullTime Fantasy‘s […]

Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 16 Last week's NFC West showdown was a rain-soaked dud with zero touchdowns. On the surface, this week's AFC West game looks like another low-scoring snoozer. However, with major playoff implications at stake, FullTime Fantasy's Thursday Night Football Preview: Week 16 finds some fantasy appeal for both squads. One year ago, the Chargers were 5-9 and had just lost their starting quarterback to a season-ending finger injury and fired Brandon Staley. A year later, Jim Harbaugh has turned the franchise's fortunes around. LA is in an excellent position to secure an AFC Wild Card spot. Coincidentally, the Denver Broncos are directly competing with the Chargers for that postseason berth. Sean Payton has also done a masterful job quickly turning the Broncos back into contenders. While neither team sets the world on fire offensively, this game projects to be a hard-fought, competitive contest. Back in October, the Chargers won 23-16 in Denver and the Broncos look to even the score in LA. The home team is favored by three and the total sits at 42 points. Matchup 
TEAM OFFENSE PASS RUSH YDS/PLAY POINTS
Denver Broncos 22 23 20 24 11
Los Angeles Chargers 26 25 23 19 20
Only the Chargers have allowed fewer points than Denver. Additionally, both teams rank outside of the top 20 in overall offense. Points will be at a premium on Thursday. Jim Harbaugh has resurrected the Los Angeles defense. However, the offense is still a work in progress. The Chargers have topped 30 points once and been held under 20 six times. That includes their last three games. Two of those resulted in losses, culminated by last week's 40-17 dismantling by the Buccaneers. Injuries have played a big part in the Chargers' offensive struggles. And facing a Denver defense that ranks fifth against the run while allowing the second-fewest yards per play won't be easy. Denver's offense has been marginally better. The backfield has been a mess for fantasy managers but QB Bo Nix has exceeded expectations after a slow start. Denver has won four straight to improve to 9-5. The Broncos are a game up on the Chargers for second place in the tough AFC West. When the Chargers defeated the Broncos in Week 6, Los Angeles dominated the time of possession 37:23 to 22:37. But without J.K. Dobbins and a banged-up Justin Herbert, the rematch favors the visitors. Denver Offense  Bo Nix finished as QB9 in Week 6 versus this defense, mainly because he ran for 61 yards. In his last seven games, Nix is...  

How will Thursday's Broncos vs. Chargers game go?

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About Jody Smith 615 Articles
With over a decade of winning experience, Jody is a well-known fixture in the fantasy football community. He was named Fantasy Pros’ **Most Accurate Ranker** previously and was the site’s Top NFL over/under totals picker with a record 65% accuracy in 2020, while also ranking 5th in the country with a 55% against-the-spread hit rate. Jody has written for many sites over the years including Pro Football Focus, FantasyPros, CBS Sportsline, FantasyData, and is a regular contributor to the Fantasy Index magazine expert’s poll, draft, and auction. Jody’s experience ranking and projecting player performance will help prepare the Fulltime Fam for their big draft days as well as answers they can trust on Sunday for those ever crucial Who Do I Start questions.