The San Diego Chargers will win against the San Francisco 49ers

Something to Play For / Playoffs

This is the biggest reason to bet on the San Diego Chargers to come away victorious on Saturday.

The San Francisco 49ers have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and everyone assumes that their head coach will be fired this offseason. They have absolutely nothing to play for except their own pride, but they'll also be doing their best to avoid injury. How can a team with that mindset beat one that knows it needs to win every game for a chance to get into the playoffs?

The "New" Defense

Since losing 37-0 to the Miami Dolphins, and since the return of OLBs Melvin Ingram and Jerry Attoachu from injury, there is no doubting that the San Diego Chargers defense has been much improved. In addition, the 49ers offense has been particularly bad as of late. In their last four games they have scored 16, 17, 3, 13, and 7 points. They haven't even cracked 20!

The Chargers can win on this side of the ball. They may even be able to win the field position and special teams games. That should be enough.

Homefield Disadvantage

In their brand new stadium, where the San Francisco 49ers were supposed to have a big homefield advantage, the team is just 3-3 this season. Two of those losses came at the hands of the Bears and Rams.

This is an eminently beatable team in Santa Clara, and the short trip up the coast for the Chargers should only work in favor of Mike McCoy's team.