With our Christmas slate of games and Week 16 nearly in the books, we have the conclusion of the week on Monday night with the Indianapolis Colts hosting the Los Angeles Chargers. Oddsmakers believe having Nick Foles under center will not make the Colts completely helpless. The Chargers are set as just -4 favorites, with a total of 45.5
ℹ️ The Pick: | Austin Ekeler Over 32.5 Receiving Yards, Over 4.5 Receptions |
? Recommended Sportsbook Promo: | BetRivers Second Chance Bet Up To $500 |
? Promo Code: | Click Here |
Why Bet The Ekeler Over
✅ The Colts have been quite friendly to running backs over the course of the fantasy football season. While that statement holds mostly true on the ground, it is through the air where the Colts have been most susceptible to opposing running backs. Only four teams have allowed more receiving yards to running backs. The truly surprising part of it comes from the Colts being a subpar team over the course of the season. They are not a team that had been protecting a plethora of leads that faced pass happy approaches late in the majority of their games.
Notably, two of the four teams that have allowed more receiving yards to backs are in the AFC South. This is the division Austin Ekeler plays in, and the Colts are yet to face the league leader in both catches and yardage from the backfield.
✅ Through 14 weeks, Ekeler is the league leader in running back receptions with 95 and receiving yards with 635. Matchups have not mattered a great deal for Ekeler, as he has found success against most. That said, this one may be the most exploitable he has faced. Beyond the ease of the matchup, there is another split that should be noted for Ekeler.
Ekeler has been great throughout the year, but has been better as a pass catcher on the road than at home. His season long averages of 8.2 targets per game turned to 6.8 catches for 45.4 yards are impressive. Those figures improve in road games, and that has held particularly true in recent games. Over the last three road games, Ekeler has averaged 11 targets for 7.7 catches and 56 yards. That type of usage against a soft matchup like this will lead to more big statistics in the receiving game for Ekeler.
Gambling Problem? Call or TEXT 1-800-Gambler 21+
Los Angeles Chargers
Entering Monday Night, the Chargers own the 6 seed in the AFC. They have the opportunity to truly put a stamp on their Wild Card positioning with a win. A win would put them two games ahead of the playoff qualification line with two weeks to play. A loss would see them drop to a tie for the sixth seed and open the door for other teams to sneak in over the last two weeks. The Chiefs have clinched the AFC West so the Chargers are playing for Wild Card life and seeding for the remainder of the regular season.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts, who sit at a woeful 4-9-1, are essentially taking auditions for next season. Nick Foles will be the starting quarterback. Jeff Saturday will look to make a case to remove the interim portion of his head coaching title. With the absolute disaster that Matt Ryan was this season and the parting of ways with previous coach Frank Reich, it is safe to wonder if there are regrets stemming from parting ways with Carson Wentz last offseason.