NFL experts make surprising prediction for Chargers-Texans AFC showdown

The Denver Broncos found a way to beat the Kansas City Chiefs' junior varsity on Christmas. Now it's up to the Los Angeles Chargers to keep the pressure on. Albeit against a much tougher opponent.

The 11-4 Chargers can still make next week's regular-season finale a de facto AFC West Championship Game, but they have to beat the surging 10-5 Houston Texans in order to do so. If the Bolts win on Saturday at SoFi Stadium they'll improve to 12-4 and could tie the 13-3 Broncos with a in in Week 18. L.A. already has one win over Denver, so a season sweep would give it the tiebreaker and the division title for the first time since 2009.

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During their four-game winning streak the Chargers have taken care of the Philadelphia Eagles, a full-strength Chiefs' team and the Dallas Cowboys. Still, they haven't made everyone a believer.

On USA Today's panel of six expert prognosticators, four are predicting a Texans' upset win on the road that will lock the Chargers into only a Wild Card berth.

Chargers over Texans

"Can the Chargers banged up O-line hold up against the Texans?" writes Tyler Dragon. "If they can protect Justin Herbert just a little, they should win at home."

Says Lorenzo Reyes, "This is a fascinating matchup, but I'm going to give the edge to the Chargers because they're at home and are more balanced, whereas Houston's offense is susceptible to the occasional poor performance."

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Texans over Chargers

"The Texans' defense is too good to allow Harbaugh's run-focused game plan to control the tempo," writes Jon Hoefling. "Just a bad matchup for Los Angeles."

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