In two of the three AFC playoff games on Wild-Card Weekend 2023, the home team is a double-digit favorite and largely expected to cruise to victory. Saturday's matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars is the exception with L.A. favored on the road.

The line is up to 2.5 points in favor of the Chargers, according to the latest odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. The Jaguars were getting only a single point earlier in the week, but the majority of the bets have since been placed on Los Angeles to cover the spread.

The Chargers are on the road because they finished second in the AFC West and the Jaguars won the AFC South title. Los Angeles was four games behind the No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs. The Chargers had one more win than the Jaguars, which won the conference's weakest division.

The Jaguars beat the Chargers handily in their regular-season meeting. Jacksonville routed Los Angeles 38-10 in Week 3 at SoFi Stadium. Justin Herbert threw an interception and posted a mediocre 74.0 passer rating. The Chargers' running backs only rushed for 19 yards on 11 carries. Trevor Lawrence completed 28 of 39 passes for 262 yards and three scores.

Jacksonville took advantage of a Los Angeles team that was dealing with injuries to its most important players. Wide receiver Keenan Allen and center Corey Linsley were both sidelined. Herbert started at quarterback just 10 days after suffering fractured rib cartilage on "Thursday Night Football."

Ahead of Saturday's game, there are different injury concerns at receiver and on the offensive line for the Chargers. Left tackle Rashawn Slater is out and still recovering from a torn left biceps tendon. Mike Williams hasn't practiced all week since leaving the regular-season finale with a back contusion.

There is a sense within the Chargers' locker room that Williams will be ready to go Saturday. If Williams doesn't play or isn't completely healthy, it could spell trouble for Los Angeles.

In the six games that Williams didn't play at least 50% of the team's snaps, the Chargers went 2-4. That included a 31-28 loss against the last-place Denver Broncos in Week 18.

Even though it was a meaningless game, Brandon Staley played his starters most of the way in Denver. Russell Wilson had his second-highest passer rating of the season. The Broncos had 205 rushing yards on 5.7 yards per attempt.

The Chargers have a bottom-five rushing defense. They give up a league-high 5.4 yards per carry. Travis Etienne is one of the league's most explosive running backs and can be a game-changer against Los Angeles.

Lawrence is making his first career playoff start and wasn't particularly impressive in Jacksonville's de facto AFC South title game. The former No. 1 overall draft pick also finished the regular season with 15 touchdowns and one interception in his last nine games. Lawrence is the best quarterback to take on the Chargers in some time.

Prior to losing in Denver, Los Angeles put together a four-game winning streak against Baker Mayfield, Nick Foles, a hobbled Ryan Tannehill and a struggling Tua Tagovailoa. No team in the playoffs has hit the quarterback fewer times than the Chargers.

Herbert is making his playoff debut. Staley has never been part of a playoff game as a head coach. Doug Pederson is 4-2 in the playoffs as a head coach and five years removed from leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl championship.

The Jaguars have won four straight games at home, including victories over the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens. Jacksonville was an underdog in both of those matchups, and it might be primed to pull off another upset at home against a playoff team.

Saturday's game starts at 8:15 p.m. EST on NBC and Peacock.

Prediction: Jaguars over Chargers, 27-20

Derwin James Chargers
Derwin James of the Los Angeles Chargers celebrates an incompletion by the Las Vegas Raiders during the third quarter at Allegiant Stadium on January 09, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Chris Unger/Getty Images