The San Francisco 49ers can’t make the playoffs this year and head Coach Jim Harbaugh may be heading into Week 16 with one foot out the door. Nonetheless, Harbaugh was steadfast in his beliefs that San Francisco still have meaningful football to play this season, despite the fact that they will be missing the conference championship game for the first time in four years.
The San Diego Chargers, on the other hand, do have something to play for. While they are on the outside looking in of a playoff position, if they are able to win out and a few other teams ahead of them lose, San Diego will be making a second consecutive trip to the postseason.
Currently, the average ticket price for 49ers vs. Chargers tickets is just $165 on TiqIQ.com and it’ll cost $63 to get into the stadium. Chargers fans wanting to visit the beautiful new Levi’s Stadium, make sure to check out Hipmunk for all flights to Santa Clara, as well as any other potential transportation options, whether you’re coming from San Diego, New York, or Honolulu.
You’ll also be able to find places to stay at Hipmunk. Santa Clara hotels start at $74 on Hipmunk with the Plaza Suites being the cheapest option. There’s also several other options below $100 per night.
A win for San Diego would spell doom for several other AFC teams and put them at 9-6 on the season. It took just nine wins to get into the playoffs last season, but with both wildcard teams (currently the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers) at nine wins already, it will probably take a win in the final game of the year for the Chargers to return to the postseason.
It’s a difficult matchup for Phillip Rivers and the San Diego offense, but the Niners have been hobbled by injuries and have looked less than stellar at times this season. With rookie linebacker Chris Borland recently placed on injured reserve, the linebacker unit, previously the strength of the Niners defensive eleven, has suddenly become a weakness. Ryan Mathews may find much more running room than he would have expected entering the season against this Niners front.
Nonetheless, the 49ers stopping Mathews wouldn’t be an entire shocker. But on the other hand, the 49ers establishing their own running game without Frank Gore (concussion) and Carlos Hyde (back) in the lineup could prove troubling. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick has really struggled at times this season and without the running game to lean on, the Chargers defense should be able to attack Kaepernick while keeping enough players in coverage to slow the passing game.
It’s a road game, and a road game in the NFL is never easy to win, but it looks like the Chargers are in strong shape to get to 9-6 on the season.
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