luckadjusted
NFL Week 3 · 2026

NFL · Week 17 2026 · Sunday, January 3

Chiefs vs Chargers prediction and pick

Our Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers pick: Chiefs by 6.5, 69% to win. The forecast starts from what each team’s play has been worth once the luck is adjusted for, adds last season, who starts at quarterback and who is out hurt, and home field. No betting information goes in.

An early look, 14 weeks ahead: it sharpens as the game comes up. Updated every day until kickoff, then frozen and scored. After the game this page shows who deserved to win.

Why the curves are so wide: luck. Even with both teams’ strength known exactly, one game’s bounces, kicks, calls and sequencing move the final margin by about ±12.1 points (one standard deviation, measured from every play since 2019). These forecasts carry ±13.4, so about 81% of the width is that luck; the rest is what nobody knows yet about the teams. That is why a 7-point favorite still loses about 3 times in 10.

Chiefs at Chargers

Sun, Jan 3, 1:00 pm ET · SoFi Stadium

Chiefs by 6.5 · 69% to win

Show as a table
OutcomeChance
Chiefs win68.7%
Chargers win31.3%
Middle 50%: Chiefs by 16 to Chargers by 350%
Middle 90%: Chiefs by 28 to Chargers by 1690%
Middle 95%: Chiefs by 32 to Chargers by 2095%
Exactly Chiefs by 38.0%
Exactly Chargers by 36.5%
Exactly Chiefs by 75.6%
Exactly Chiefs by 144.7%
Exactly Chiefs by 104.3%
P50
Half of games like this end between Chiefs by 16 and Chargers by 3.
P90
9 in 10 between Chiefs by 28 and Chargers by 16.
P95
19 in 20 between Chiefs by 32 and Chargers by 20.
Where the forecast comes from
This season, adjusted for luckChiefs+7.4
Home fieldChargers+2.3
QuarterbacksChiefs+1.3
Last seasonChiefs+0.1

The season so far

TeamRecordCoin-flip winsLuck in wins
Chiefs 3–0 2.9 +0.6
Chargers 0–3 0.1 −1.1

Coin-flip wins: the wins each team’s games were worth with only the kicks, bounces, drops and calls re-rolled, the record adjusted for luck. Luck in wins: actual wins minus what the play was worth.

Chiefs vs Chargers: questions and answers

Who will win Chiefs vs Chargers?

Our forecast picks the Chiefs, with 69% to win; the Chargers win 31% of the time.

What’s the spread for Chiefs vs Chargers?

Our spread: Chiefs −6.5. The betting line isn’t out yet. Ours uses no betting information, so where the two differ is where our read of the teams differs from the market’s.

When is Chiefs vs Chargers?

Sunday, January 3, 2026, at 1:00 pm ET, at SoFi Stadium.