Los Angeles Chargers vs. Indianapolis Colts Monday Night Football Betting Preview

On Monday night, Week 16 of the NFL will conclude with an AFC matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts. Indianapolis has been eliminated from playoff contention, while the Chargers are looking for a win to improve their playoff chances. In this contest, a quarterback change for the Colts could have a big impact on the way that this way goes in Indianapolis.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers are 8-6 coming into this Monday Night Football matchup with the Colts. That has them in sixth place in the AFC standings, which is good for a Wild Card spot if they can maintain that position. 

In this game, they will need to find a way to continue to pass the ball effectively against a Colts team that has done a nice job of slowing down opposing passing offenses.

So far this season, the Colts rank 10th in the league in passing yards allowed per game. The strength of the Chargers offense is their passing game, as Justin Herbert has thrown for over 300 yards in three straight games.

 Los Angeles might need another 300 yard game from their quarterback to win this game, which could be a harder ask than usual against their opposing defense.

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Indianapolis Colts

For the Indianapolis Colts, the playoffs are no longer in the realm of possibility, as they are mathematically eliminated with a 4-9-1 record. As a result, the Colts are playing for pride and to try and figure out their future going forward. 

That means the willingness to experiment at the quarterback position, which the Colts are prepared to do for this game by benching Matt Ryan.

In Ryan’s place will be Nick Foles, who has not played in an NFL game since December of 2021. Foles is best known for his run leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl title, but that was a long time ago and Foles has done very little in the league since then. 

How Foles will respond to the speed of live game action in the NFL once again will go a long way in determining how this contest will go for Foles and the Colts.

Keys To The Game

On the Chargers side of things, their pass rush is going to be the top key to this Monday night contest. If they can put pressure on Nick Foles, they can take full advantage of his lack of experience over the last couple of years in the NFL, and look to cover as -4 point road favorites.

Catching up to NFL game speed is no easy task, and the Chargers need to make that as difficult as possible on the new Colts quarterback.

For Indianapolis, the number one key to this game is going to be getting their running game going right away in this contest. Doing so would make things as easy as possible on Foles, who will likely need to ease his way back into game action in the NFL. 

Without Jonathan Taylor available, doing that will come down to a combination of Zack Moss and Deon Jackson.