Los Angeles Chargers (9-6) @ New England Patriots (3-12)
Saturday, December 28, 1:00 PM ET (Game on NFL Network)
In case you were wondering, you need just about every possible streaming service known to man in order to watch football with playoff stakes in Week 17. You not only will need access to Netflix, but you’ll also need access to the NFL Network for a Saturday slate of games that is loaded with high stakes.
It all starts in the 1:00 window as the New England Patriots and rookie quarterback Drake Maye play host to Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers are coming off of an emotional comeback win at home last week against their division rival Denver Broncos while the Patriots’ best moment of the season might have been a 14-0 lead against the Buffalo Bills this past week.
A lead that evaporated into thin air.
The Chargers are fighting not only for their playoff lives still (although they’ve got a great shot to make it) but they are now fighting for the #5 overall seed with the Steelers perhaps faltering late this season. The Chargers can secure a playoff spot with a 10th win but the Patriots are kind of a sneaky team right now with Drake Maye and his playmaking ability.
If the Patriots have as many busted coverages against the Chargers as the Broncos did, this game won’t even be in question, but I have kind of liked the Patriots as an upset candidate for a handful of weeks now and this might be the weekend where they actually pull a weird one off.
The Chargers are 5.5-point favorites against the Patriots and that sort of speaks to the way Vegas thinks about New England right now. The Chargers absolutely cannot overlook the Pats.
I’m going to say LA squeaks by with a win, but I don’t think they will cover and I think if you have a hunch about the Patriots, it might not be a terrible idea this week.
Prediction: Chargers win 26-23