Chargers win would be no shocker

We'll wrap up Week 16 in the NFL between the Chargers and Colts, two teams with mutually aligned interests: having the Chargers win. Los Angeles clinches a playoff spot with a win, while Indianapolis is trying to move into the top five of the draft order to remedy its ongoing quarterback issues.

LA should win, but instead of the game's outcome, we'd like to take a chance on a Same Game Parlay to make our week.

+949 SGP for tonight

We'd like to build our look this evening around the ground game, it's where we see the biggest defensive vulnerabilities and the most likely players to be involved.

Indianapolis has allowed the 12th-most rushing yards per game this season and tends to give its opponents chances to establish the ground game; the Colts see the fourth-most rush attempts against them per game.

Los Angeles has allowed 145.6 rushing yards per game, which is fourth most in the NFL, and the Chargers' 5.3 yards allowed per rush attempt is the highest in the league.

Both defenses have seen relatively productive ground efforts against them of late, with starting RBs typically going for 70+ yards on the regular.

The first target will of course be Austin Ekeler for the Chargers, who has double-digit carries in 10 of 14 games this season. On the Colts' end, we prefer Zack Moss. Jonathan Taylor is now out for the season, and once he was knocked out last week, Moss proceeded to see 24 carries, eight of which were in the red zone, racking up 81 yards on the ground.

Heading into the week, the Chargers had allowed the fourth-most touchdowns to running backs this season, so given Moss' red zone volume and involvement in the offense, we like him to find the end zone. Indianapolis is also most generous to RB scoring. Their 15 TDs allowed to the position were tied for the eighth most before Week 16's action.

Thus, our betting approach for tonight is as follows, built on FanDuel.

• Austin Ekeler 50+ rushing yards
• Austin Ekeler TD
• Zack Moss 60+ rushing yards
• Zack Moss TD 

Together, it comes in at +949. Enjoy the action, let's finish the week strong!

In the news ...

Latest on the NFL playoff race — The NFC Wild Card race is going to come down to the wire, and believe it or not, the Packers are in the mix. Green Bay was aided by each of New York, Washington, Detroit and Seattle all losing in Week 16, and two of the five teams listed here are going to make the postseason. The Giants are in the driver's seat at 8-6-1 and are -1000 to make the playoffs. After that, it's anyone's guess. Sportsbooks have the order of favorites as so: Washington (+175 to make the playoffs), Green Bay (+175), Detroit (+250), and Seattle (+250). A Week 18 game between the Lions and Packers could hold supreme importance in determining the final playoff spot.

EPL returns — The English Premier League took a brief two-month hiatus because of the World Cup being scheduled so late this season, and now the action is back. Manchester City is the current favorite to win it all once again, currently at -250. Arsenal is next at +250 and then there's a large drop-off to the next competitor for the EPL crown, as Liverpool and Newcastle are both +3300.

James Harden considering return to Houston — No, you remember correctly — James Harden did force his way off the Rockets just two years ago. The latest reports from Adrian Wojnarowski suggest Harden is now considering a return to his former team. There's a community draw in place for Harden, plus having family in the area. Harden has a player option at the end of this year's contract with Philadelphia and could choose to become a free agent in the summer if he wants. Philadelphia is currently 20-12, the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll