The Chargers came out of Week 5 with another gut punch, falling 23-17 to the Broncos and dropping to 0-5 after Denver finished the job in the final minutes.
This one had the look of a defensive fight from the jump. Both teams spent long stretches punting, both quarterbacks took hits, and neither offense found much easy yardage. But when the game tightened late, Denver made the cleaner plays and Los Angeles couldn’t answer.
The turning point began almost immediately after the opening exchanges. Denver’s first drive went nowhere, but the Chargers’ first possession turned costly when Charlie Kolar caught a pass and then fumbled.
Talanoa Hufanga forced the ball loose and Brandon Jones recovered it, giving the Broncos prime field position. Bo Nix and the offense took advantage from there, and J.K.
Dobbins punched in a two-yard touchdown to put Denver ahead 7-0.
Los Angeles eventually settled in enough to get on the board in the second quarter. Justin Herbert led a solid march, but the drive stalled, leaving Cameron Dicker to knock through a 42-yard field goal and trim the deficit to 7-3.
Denver answered with points of its own when Will Lutz drilled a 34-yard field goal to make it 10-3. The Broncos then nearly built on that, but Herbert and the Chargers forced a punt, and Nix was strip-sacked by Akheem Mesidor.
Denver recovered, though, and took the 10-3 edge into halftime.
Herbert and the Chargers flipped the script after the break. Their opening drive of the third quarter chewed up 9:28 and ended with Herbert finding Hayden Rucci for a seven-yard touchdown to tie it 10-10.
Then came the kind of swing play that can change everything: after Denver got the ball back, Nix was tackled by Tuli Tuipulotu and Mesidor, and Tuipulotu forced and recovered the fumble. Los Angeles made it count right away, with Kimani Vidal breaking multiple tackles on a 42-yard touchdown run to put the Chargers up 17-10.
The Broncos weren’t done, though, and the fourth quarter belonged to them. After both teams opened the period with punts, Denver got a huge return that set it up at the Chargers 27, but Lutz missed a 42-yard field goal.
That miss didn’t derail the Broncos for long. Los Angeles later had a chance on 4th-and-1, but Herbert was stopped, handing Denver the ball at the Chargers 41.
Nix then hit Courtland Sutton on a five-yard touchdown to tie the game at 17-17.
From there, the pressure piled up on Herbert. Zach Allen sacked him and forced a fumble that Allen recovered, setting Denver up again.
The Broncos settled for a 19-yard field goal from Lutz to go ahead 20-17. The Chargers needed a response, but Herbert was intercepted by Brandon Jones on 4th and 6, giving Denver another short field.
The Broncos bled more clock on the ground, then added a 36-yard field goal from Lutz to stretch the lead to 23-17.
Los Angeles got one last shot and worked into hail mary range, but Denver brought heavy pressure and Ja'Quan McMillan sacked Herbert to end it.
For the Chargers, it was another frustrating finish in a game that stayed within reach all afternoon. The defense gave them chances, Herbert made enough plays to put them in front, and yet the result still came down the Broncos making the final sequence cleaner.
Now at 0-5, Los Angeles has almost no margin left. How Jim Harbaugh’s group responds next will say plenty.
In Other News...
Chargers Let Another Winnable Game Slip Away As Pressure Builds On Herbert
The Chargers had another game within reach in Inglewood before it tilted the wrong way late, with Denver rallying for a 23-17 win after Sean Payton took over play-calling duties and the Broncos leaned on key defensive turnovers in the fourth quarter. Bo Nix tied it with a touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton, and Wil Lutz finished the comeback with a pair of late field goals, leaving Los Angeles to sort through a loss that looked there for the taking.
For Justin Herbert, the finish only added to the burden that comes with every close game that slips away. The Chargers had chances to close it out, but the final stretch unraveled quickly, and Denver seized control after Herberts turnover set up the go-ahead kick. When the margin is that thin, every mistake gets magnified, and this one will sting because it was the kind of game Los Angeles needed to put away. [Read more 🡒]
Jim Harbaughs Chargers Just Reached A Troubling New Low
The Chargers start under Jim Harbaugh has taken on a familiar kind of urgency for a team trying to stop a fast slide before it turns into something far worse. After losing to the Broncos, Los Angeles fell to 0-5, the worst opening of Harbaughs NFL career and a stark departure from the winning track record he built across his first six pro seasons.
Harbaugh was left searching for answers afterward, saying the players have to fight with their hearts and bring their best effort as the pressure keeps building. It is a rough place to be this early, especially with the Chiefs waiting on the road next week and little margin left for a team already staring at a troubling new low. [Read more 🡒]
Jim Harbaugh Sounds Lost As Chargers Season Starts Slipping Away
The Chargers season has gone from bad to unstable in a hurry, and the home loss to Denver only added to the sense that nothing is getting fixed quickly. Los Angeles is 0-5, the offense has been hit hard by injuries, and a unit that was supposed to get a fresh start under new coordinator Mike McDaniel has instead looked disconnected while Justin Herbert has struggled to find his usual rhythm.
Jim Harbaughs comments after the Broncos game captured the mood around the team more than any box score could. With the losses piling up and the offense still searching for answers, the bigger issue now is less about one disappointing afternoon and more about what the message inside the building is supposed to be as the season keeps slipping away. [Read more 🡒]