Chargers vs Falcons odds and prediction for Week 9 clash
By Jason Reed
After a much-needed bye week, the LA Chargers hit the road in Week 9 to take on an Atlanta Falcons team that has been far better than expected. Atlanta enters this game with a 4-4 record and before the year, it seemed more likely that they would finish the season with four wins than be .500 through eight weeks.
The Chargers are 4-3 on the season and desperately need a win to get some momentum coming out of the bye week. LA also needs a win to get the fans to buy back in after the team decided not to make any trades to fix obvious holes at the trade deadline.
There are so many variables with this game both with how this team will come out of the bye week as well as who will even be available. That could make it a hard game to predict but that is not stopping us here at Bolt Beat.
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change after time of publication.
Chargers vs Falcons odds Week 9:
As it currently stands, the Chargers are actually road favorites as the Atlanta Falcons are three-point underdogs against the Chargers. There is slightly more juice on the Chargers' side of the spread at -115 while they are also -166 moneyline favorites. The Falcons are +140 moneyline underdogs.
Vegas expects this to be a somewhat high-scoring game as the over/under has been set at 49.5 points. That is tied for the second-highest over/under total of the week with Seattle and Arizona being the highest, coming in at 50.5 points.
Chargers vs Falcons prediction Week 9:
This is perhaps the most important game of the season for the Chargers. The Chargers desperately need a win as if not, it could start a snowball effect that leads to the Bolts being a 4-6 team after 10 weeks.
With an extra week of rest and game-planning, the Chargers should come into this game on fire. This is as must-win as a Week 9 non-division game can be for the Chargers and we are going to see that urgency from the team and the coaching staff in this one.
That being said, this team still has holes that can be exploited and the Falcons are likely going to have a lot of success running the ball against the Bolts. That will keep the game close enough for the over to hit, but when the dust settles, the Chargers should be able to win by a field goal or more.
I am going with Chargers -3 and over 49.5 points and to be completely transparent, I feel a lot better about the over than I do the -3. While the Chargers should win, their kicking situation is not great and there very well could be a miscue that leads to a two-point win. Plus, there is always the chance of a push.
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If anything, I would rather consider parlaying the Chargers moneyline with the over instead of taking the spread. That is a safer route that gets you +200 odds.