Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers: Picks, Predictions, Odds and Player Props

The Kansas City Chiefs travel to southern California on Sunday to face the Los Angeles Chargers, and Patrick Mahomes and Co. will look to maintain their unbeaten record in Week 4 of the NFL season.

The reigning NFL champions have had some close contests in their first three games, but have emerged with wins over the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons to get their title defense off to a strong start.

The Chargers made a coaching change after last season, with Jim Harbaugh replacing Brandon Staley, and they have won two of their first three games, beating the Las Vegas Raiders and Carolina Panthers before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

The California-based club need to overcome a poor recent record in this match-up, though, having lost 17 of the teams' last 20 meetings, including each of the last five.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers betting picks and predictions

Over 40.0 total points (-110)

The Chiefs are heavy favorites on the road, but there should be an element of caution for those eyeing up that line as Andy Reid's team have not won any of their games this season by more than seven points.

They beat the Ravens 27-20 in Week 1, but even then they had to survive a late Ravens touchdown being ruled incomplete before they could celebrate.

The Chiefs have dominated the AFC in recent seasons, winning their division for eight straight years and their awesome record against the division rival Chargers has been a large part of that success.

Even so, last season's 31-17 win over LA at Arrowhead Stadium was the only one of their last five wins in that series that came by a wider margin than the spread for this game.

A bet on the total is preferred for Sunday's contest and going Over 40.0 points could be the best move.

The Chargers have changed character this season with Harbaugh's arrival and none of their first three games has produced more than 32 points, but there should be more scoring when the Chiefs roll into town.

They have not been the free-scoring squad they were in the early days of the Patrick Mahomes era and last year's title success was thanks in large part to their improvement of their defense.

That said, the Chiefs' first three games have produced a healthy average of 45.67 points and it would be no surprise if this one produces at least 41.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert aggravated an ankle injury in the third quarter of last week's loss to the Steelers, but appears to be trending towards playing.

The team strengthened their QB room by trading for Taylor Heinicke in the off-season and the former Commanders and Falcons starter is a capable performer, so the drop-off should not be huge if Herbert is not cleared to start.

The Chargers have faced three of the weakest offenses in the league to this point and taking on Mahomes should give them far more problems than they have encountered against Gardner Minshew, Bryce Young and Justin Fields in their first three games.

Carson Steele Over 45.5 rushing yards (-110)

The Chiefs' rushing game did not take a noticeable backward step when starting running back Isiah Pacheco was ruled out of the game against the Falcons with a broken leg.

Undrafted free agent Carson Steele got the start and posted a healthy total of 72 rushing yards on 17 carries and he can be expected to have a solid game against the Chargers.

Steele looks set to remain the main man this week, with Samaje Perine again mixing in on third downs.

While former Browns RB Kareem Hunt has been added to the active roster following his return to the Chiefs via the practice squad, he shouldn't be expected to take on a major role for this game unless Steele proves ineffective.

Hunt was not the dynamic runner he was in his younger days towards the end of his time with the Browns last season and, while he was still a threat in short-yardage situations, he looked to have lost a step overall.

The Chargers limited the Raiders' Zamir White to 44 yards in Week 1, although Alexander Mattison also had 19 on five carries.

However, Chuba Hubbard of the Panthers had 64 yards against them from only 10 carries and Najee Harris of the Steelers ran for 70 yards against the Chargers last week.

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Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers odds

Kansas City Chiefs	-370 ML
Los Angeles Chargers	+290 ML
Spread	Chiefs -7.0
Total Points	O/U 40.0

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers player props

Anytime Touchdown

Rashee Rice (KC Chiefs)	+130
Travis Kelce (KC Chiefs)	+130
Carson Steele (KC Chiefs)	+140
JK Dobbins (LA Chargers)	+160
Samaje Perine (KC Chiefs)	+175
Xavier Worthy (KC Chiefs)	+175

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.