Best prop bets for Chargers vs Texans in Week 4 (Fade Austin Ekeler)
By Jason Reed
The LA Chargers are coming off of a disappointing loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and are looking looking to right a wrong from an ugly loss last season. The Bolts will be on the road to take on the Houston Texans, who are another team that LA should beat on paper.
That being said, the Chargers are dealing with big injuries that obviously hindered the team last week. Not only is Justin Herbert not playing 100%, but the team will be without Rashawn Staler and Joey Bosa for quite some time. Keenan Allen has also been ruled out for this game, which is a big blow for this offense. We have already seen this season that the offense simply is not the same when Allen is not on the field.
We have already given out our picks against the spread and the over/under for this game. Now, let's dive into some prop bets that could potentially win some money.
1. Austin Ekeler prop bet: UNDER 57.5 rushing yards (-102)
The LA Chargers have not been able to run the ball this season and Austin Ekeler has been particularly poor in this aspect. While Ekeler has been a decent weapon in the passing game, he has not been able to get going at all in the running game.
This seems like it is more than just a cold stretch for Ekeler as we may have turned a corner on him as a runner. FanDuel is still pricing Ekeler like he is an elite back, so if we want to make money, we need to take advantage of this line.
Houston does rank second to last in rushing yards per attempt but they also have faced some pretty potent rushing attacks.
2. Justin Herbert prop bet: OVER 36.5 passing attempts (-108)
Even when he is banged up with a rib injury, Justin Herbert is going to throw the ball. With the rushing attack being so inconsistent this season, the Chargers are forced to throw the ball a lot and that is what the team is going to aim to do here.
This line is high but it still might even be too low for Herbert, who is averaging over 42 passing attempts per game this season. This is not new, either, as Herbert averaged 39.5 passing attempts per game in 2021. Herbert has hit over 36.5 passing attempts in 13 of 20 games over the last two seasons.
3. Joshua Kelley prop bet: Anytime TD scorer (+850)
This final prop is a bit of a value pick and is throwing a dart at the board at a touchdown scorer. Austin Ekeler has not been able to run the ball well but Houston has a bad run defense. The best running back in the room this season, quite frankly, has been Joshua Kelley.
While Kelley has been getting RB3 snaps, this feels like the kind of game where the Chargers realize how well he is playing and give him more snaps, especially close to the endzone. With the team not having a rushing touchdown yet this year, this feels like a good spot to get one.
Of course, any bet with +850 odds is going to be deemed unlikely, but I really like the value here. If you want to play it smart, you can bet both Kelley and Sony Michel anytime TD scorer (+600) as one of the two seemingly has to find the endzone.