3 Best NFL Bets and Predictions for Chiefs vs. Chargers on Friday Night

Even within a single NFL game, betting markets are abundant.

You've got everything from spreads and totals to touchdown scorers and player props at your disposal. It can be a lot to sort through.

Using the NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as a guide, here are the best bets for the Friday night matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.

All NFL projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook. Lines may change after this article is published.

Chiefs vs. Chargers Betting Picks on Friday Night

Chiefs -3.0 (-115)

The last time we saw the Chiefs on the gridiron, they were blown out 40-22 in Super Bowl 59 by the Philadelphia Eagles after going down 24-0 in the first half of the contest. Nevertheless, I'm expecting Kansas City to get the 2025 campaign started on the right foot by covering the spread against Los Angeles in Brazil on Friday night.

Besides having the core of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones intact, the Chiefs still have head coach Andy Reid calling plays and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo making life difficult for opposing offenses. On the other hand, the Chargers may need time to get adjusted to life without All-Pro left tackle Rashawn Slater, which isn't ideal against a Chiefs defense that had the fifth-highest blitz rate (34.7%) in 2024, per NextGenStats.

Since Mahomes took over as the full-time starting quarterback for KC, the Chiefs have gone 6-1 in their Week 1 games, and all of their victories were by a margin of four-plus points. With the reigning AFC champions looking to get the bad taste out of their mouth from the Super Bowl and likely having the Sao Paulo crowd behind them despite this counting as a road game, Kansas City is in a solid spot to secure a win of three-plus points in Week 1.

Isiah Pacheco Over 8.5 Receiving Yards (-114)

Isiah Pacheco suffered a broken fibula in Week 2 of the 2024 campaign against the Cincinnati Bengals, forcing him to miss the next nine games for the Chiefs. Expectedly, Pacheco wasn't the same player when he returned in Week 13, and he also dealt with a rib injury down the stretch.

The good news is that Pacheco appears to be healthy entering the 2025 season, and Kansas City would benefit from him being the featured back again rather than giving touches to an inefficient veteran like Kareem Hunt or the oft-injured Elijah Mitchell. Along with Pacheco being one of my favorite buy-low running backs in fantasy football, I believe he'll tally nine-plus receiving yards in Friday's contest.

Pacheco totaled 21-plus receiving yards in each of his first two starts a season ago, and the physical back posted 9-plus receiving yards in 12 of his 18 appearances in 2023 (including the playoffs) when he was the starting back in KC's offense.

Aside from expecting Pacheco to get the majority of snaps out of the backfield for the Chiefs, defenses tend to prevent Mahomes from throwing the ball deep, and the Chargers were 27th in receptions (85) and 32nd in target rate allowed (23.3%) to running backs last season.

Travis Kelce Anytime Touchdown (+155)

Much has been made about this possibly being Travis Kelce's final season, and the future Hall of Famer has spoken about wanting to bounce back after a disappointing 2024 season. Kelce finished last year with the fewest receiving yards (823) and receiving touchdowns (3) of his career since becoming the starting tight end in Kansas City in 2014.

The Chiefs are going to be without Rashee Rice for the first six games of the new campaign due to suspension, and Kelce's role sans Rice was fantastic after the versatile wideout suffered a season-ending leg injury in Week 4 of last season. From Week 5 through the Super Bowl a season ago (when Rice was sidelined), Kelce paced Kansas City's offense in target share (25.4%) and red-zone target share (26.8%) during that span.

While it can sometimes be tough to predict who finds the end zone for the Chiefs, Kelce has a variety of ways to cross the goal line, whether it be via a shovel pass in the red zone or even taking a snap from under center due to Mahomes relinquishing short-yardage situations to others since his knee injury in 2019.

Lastly, FanDuel Research's Brandon Gdula has Kelce as a touchdown regression candidate in 2025, and I believe his improved fortunes in the touchdown department begin in the season opener.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.