SPORTS BETTING

Los Angeles Chargers playoff odds and predicted total wins: NFL futures picks and best bets

Joe Williams
Sportsbook Wire

Will the Los Angeles Chargers make the 2020 NFL playoffs? Below, we look at the BetMGM betting odds and make our pick. We also predict their exact win total for the upcoming season.

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports' betting odds for a full list. Odds last updated Wednesday, June 3 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Will the Los Angeles Chargers make the 2020 NFL playoffs?

Yes: +180 | No: -223

The Chargers officially cut ties with longtime QB Philip Rivers this offseason, as he left via free agency to join the Indianapolis Colts. QB Tyrod Taylor will serve as the 'bridge' quarterback, holding down the fort until 2020 first-round draft pick QB Justin Herbert is ready to be trusted with the keys to the car in either 2020 or 2021. Taylor has been in this spot before.

The Chargers also bid farewell to RB Melvin Gordon, who signed a two-year deal in free agency with the division-rival Denver Broncos. So it's a bit of a transition season for the Bolts, who will move into their new shared home with the Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium.

The best bet here is NO ( -223) where a $10 winning bet returns a profit of just $4.50.


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How many games will the Los Angeles Chargers win in 2020? Bands

BANDODDS

0-4 Wins

+1400

5-8 Wins

-209

9-12 Wins

+185

13-16 Wins

+10000

The BetMGM bookmakers expect this to be a losing season for the Chargers, as do most talking heads. There isn't a lot of faith in Taylor turning this club into a winning team, and the schedule doesn't set up very well for them, either.

We'll learn a lot about the Chargers in Week 1 when they travel to meet the Cincinnati Bengals. It might be their most winnable road game on the entire schedule. A loss there would get them off on the wrong foot. They travel to the Eastern Time Zone for four of their eight road games this season, and of course, they will have to face the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs twice.

The Bolts will welcome the new-look New England Patriots to town, as well as traveling to battle the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 12 in their only scheduled Monday Night Football appearance. It's an ugly schedule for a Chargers team likely to endure a second straight losing season.

The Chargers are worth a small-unit bet at 5-8 WINS ( -209), although it will cost you. They're not going to be a winning team, but it wouldn't be shocking to see even fewer than five wins with this mishmash roster.

A $10 bet on 5-8 WINS fetches a profit of only $4.80.

How many games will the Los Angeles Chargers win in 2020? Exact number

It's expected the Bolts will be swept by the Chiefs, while perhaps splitting with both the rival Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders. Road trips to Cincinnati and Miami are very winnable, but outside of those games it's unlikely the Chargers will return home with many road victories.

Looking at the home slate, a win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 3 is certainly very possible, and it might be their first in their new digs. Games at home against the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars shouldn't be terribly daunting, either.

Target 6 WINS ( +400) as the play on exact victories, and you can quadruple your investment if they're to suffer double-digit losses yet again in 2020. UNDER 7.5 WINS ( -115) is a very good bet, too.

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