Thursday Night Football Best Bets: Chargers at Chiefs

Man, it feels good having football back. Don’t get me wrong, I love baseball–but if there is a random White Sox vs Cardinals game happening on a Thursday night, odds are I’m not watching it, let alone betting on it. However, now that the NFL is back in full swing, I have something to look forward to on Thursday nights, regardless of who’s playing.

This Thursday night we get to watch two of the best QBs in the game go at it, as the Los Angeles Chargers travel into Kansas City to the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes will be fresh off of a five-touchdown performance, but Herbert’s coming in with an impressive Week One performance as well, passing for 279 yards and 3 TDs of his own.

If you have some strong feelings about this game, be sure to check out any of these New Jersey Casinos to place your bets. If you’re undecided, then you’ve come to the right place–I’m going to give out some of my best bets for this Thursday night’s game. The odds I will be using are provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and are subject to change.

Best Bet #1: Patrick Mahomes OVER 304.5 Yards (-125)

In Week One, Mahomes had 360 passing yards against the Cardinals, and made their defense look like it was missing at least three players. While the Chargers held their opposing QB in Week One (Derek Carr) under the number of 304.5 (he had 295 yards) I feel like Mahomes will be a bit too much for this Chargers defense to handle. Many people feared for Mahomes and the Chiefs once Tyreek Hill left, but Mahomes seemed to have taken that criticism personally and is out to prove a point. I’m not sure if we’ll see as much as 360 like he did in Week One, but I feel confident it’ll be over 304.5.

Best Bet #2: Patrick Mahomes OVER 0.5 Interceptions (-115)

There are two sides to every coin, right? This is a rare combo–the over on yards AND interceptions–but this is more so credit to the Chargers' defense than anything else. The Chargers picked off Carr three times in their week one matchup, and have had some success picking off Mahomes in the past (collecting five interceptions in seven games, including three in their last two matchups).

Best Bet #3: Austin Ekeler UNDER 53.5 Rushing Yards (-130)

I’m feeling another bad week for Ekeler, at least in the running game. While the Chiefs pass offense looked solid last week, holding Kyler Murray to under 200 yards, it was their rush defense that impressed me the most. Between the Cardinals’ four rushers (which includes QB Kyler Murray) no one surpassed 30 yards, making this week a tough matchup for Ekeler. The only thing that hurts this bet is that the Chargers are dealing with a lot of Running Back depth injuries, so Ekeler could easily accumulate yardage via just being used too much. However, I’m believing in this Chiefs defensive unit and taking the Under.

Best Bet #4: Justin Herbert OVER 1.5 Passing Touchdowns (-250)

I get the feeling that this one is going to be a bit of a shootout between Mahomes and Herbert, so I think this one should hit pretty easily. Herbert has failed to throw over 1.5 touchdowns against the Chiefs only one in his career, and it was in his first ever game against them. Since then, he has thrown three, four and two, in that order.

Best Bet Parlay

If you were to add all these bets to a parlay, you’d be looking at a +633 which isn’t that bad. Fade me or ride with me, I don’t care–I guess we’ll see who’s laughing next week.