Home > NFL Picks > Atlanta Falcons vs Los Angeles Chargers Week 14 Pick – NFL December 13
Atlanta Falcons vs Los Angeles Chargers Week 14 Pick – NFL December 13
By Andruw Burling in NFL Picks — Dec 12th, 2020 12:42pm PST
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The NFL is set up with another great week of action. Fourteen games will be up on the board throughout Sunday. One of these games will be between the Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles Chargers. These two teams have not had ideal seasons so far, but will look to earn a win in this one. This game will kick off at around 4:25 PM Eastern time on December 13.
The Falcons have earned a record of 4-8 throughout this season, which has them sitting in third place of the AFC South. Atlanta has struggled throughout this season to get into a groove and will look to have some hope in the final stretch of the season. The Falcons have gone 4-3 in their last seven games and will look to keep it up.
Los Angeles has put up a record of 3-9 throughout this season, which has them sitting in fourth place of the AFC West. The Chargers have not been able to finish out games, either blowing a lead at the very end or coming close and not finishing the comeback. Los Angeles is coming off an embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots and will look to bounce back this week.
These two teams have not earned records they hoped for this season. Both teams have some promise on both sides of the ball though, which I expect them to push through to the end with. The Falcons have been much better since firing Dan Quinn. Atlanta will look to keep playing well as they travel across the country to face off against the Chargers.
Previous Matchups
The Falcons played against the New Orleans Saints last week at home. Younghoe Koo went 3-3 on field goal attempts, while Matt Ryan had a passing touchdown. It was not enough though. Taysom Hill had two passing touchdowns on the day, while Alvin Kamara rushed for a touchdown to put it on ice. The Saints were able to walk away with a 21-16 win for their ninth win in a row.
Los Angeles hosted the New England Patriots in Week 13. The Chargers could not put a single point on the board as they were blanked. Cam Newton threw for a touchdown and rushed for two more. The Patriots had two touchdowns on special teams with a punt return and a blocked field goal return. New England took care of business blowing out the Chargers 45-0.
These two teams are coming off tough losses at home in Week 13. Atlanta was competitive with the Saints until the end, but could not break through on that tough defense. Los Angeles was not able to move the ball or score at all against a tough New England defense. The Chargers will need to have a short memory if they want to erase that loss and bounce back in this one.
Quarterback Comparison
Matt Ryan is the starting Quarterback for the Falcons this season. Ryan has put up solid numbers throughout the season despite his team's poor performance. He has thrown for 3436 yards, 18 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Last week Ryan went 19-39 for 273 yards and a touchdown in the losing effort against the Saints
Justin Herbert has stepped into the starting role for Los Angeles throughout this season. Herbert has struggled the last few weeks, but has had a strong season overall. He has thrown for 3224 yards, 23 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Herbert has also rushed for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns. He went 26-53 for 209 yards and 2 interceptions in last week's loss.
Both Quarterbacks have had solid seasons despite both teams having losing records. Herbert's season has been a bit better, but has not been great in the last couple of weeks. Herbert will need to bounce back quickly in this one if he wants to get the Chargers back in the win column. Ryan had a solid game last week against the Saints defense and will look to build upon that coming into Los Angeles.
Offensive Battle
Atlanta has been solid on the offensive side of the ball throughout this season. The Falcons have scored 311 points and gained 4455 yards of offense, which are 14th and 11th in the NFL this season. Atlanta has held opposing teams to 302 points, which is 17th in the league. The Falcons have given up 4733 yards, which is 27th in the NFL.
The Chargers offense has had big moments throughout the season, but have not been fantastic as a whole. Los Angeles has scored 277 points this season, which is 22nd in the league. The Chargers have also gained 4063 yards, which is 7th in the NFL. Los Angeles has held their opponents to 345 points and 4063 yards, which are 27th and 9th in the league.
Los Angeles has been good at gaining yards and limiting yards to opposing teams this season. The Chargers have not been great on special teams though. Los Angeles will need to avoid giving the Falcons good field positioning on returns this week. The Falcons have been able to put up points and will make sure to capitalize with good field position in this one.
Pick Overview
The Chargers are coming into this one after being completely blanked by the Patriots last week. I think Los Angeles will come out much faster in this one as they try to erase that defeat. I think Herbert will have a nice bounce back game after struggling the last couple of weeks. The Falcons have improved since firing Dan Quinn, but their defense still gives up a lot of yards, which could give the Chargers the advantage.
BetOnline has Atlanta listed as a -122 against the money line in this one. This implies that the Falcons will win this game around 55 percent of the time. Atlanta has not been great this season, which makes this line seem wrong. Los Angeles is at home and is coming off a huge loss. I think the Chargers will come out quick in this one and will be able to earn a big win over Los Angeles.
The Bet
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Andruw Burling / Author
Andruw Burling has been writing sports picks since 2017, covering mainly NHL and NBA content, but doing work in other sports as well. Andruw grew up in Las Vegas and has been around sports since a young age. He grew up a huge NHL and NBA fan and continues to use that knowledge in his content today.
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