The Chargers are gearing up for a matchup against the Denver Broncos in what is shaping up to be their biggest game of the season. First off, the playoff implications are massive. Los Angeles is currently the seventh seed in the AFC, currently positioned to travel to Buffalo to play the Bills. A win against the Broncos would push them past Denver and position them to play the Steelers in the first round. While still not ideal, Pittsburgh is much more likely to be friendly to a Southern California team than Buffalo (weather-wise). Beating Denver would put them in a prime position to close out on one of their most successful seasons in years.
Another reason this game is so crucial for the Chargers’ season’s finish is that their last two games should be easy wins. They play the Patriots and the Raiders, who are far out of the playoff race and are more looking to lose than take a win away from the Bolts. The Raiders always play the rival Chargers hard, but they would choose a guaranteed shot at Shedeur Sanders over beating LA for one game if put in that position. For that reason, if the Chargers can take down the Broncos, they’re probably looking at an 11-6 season.
Of course, the Chargers have their sights on the Broncos and nothing after right now. With that being said, the injury situation during a short week is a very big factor. The Chargers have a very long injury report. To start, standout CB Cam Hart is out with his second concussion on the season. Safety Elijah Molden is doubtful with a knee injury, something the Broncos are definitely watching amidst one of his best seasons in the league. TE Hayden Hurst, OG Zion Johnson, DT Otito Ogbonnia, and LB Denzel Perryman are all questionable. Hurst, Johnson, and Perryman were all full participants on Wednesday, which would likely mean they are at least more likely to play than the others.
The Broncos are in a much better spot injury-wise, but they will be missing difference-makers of their own. Solid RB Jaleel McLaughlin will be out with a quad injury, while standout corner Riley Moss will be sidelined with a knee injury. The absence of Moss will be a big one to watch for the Chargers offense because there will now be a much bigger gap between Patrick Surtain II and Denver’s second-best DB.
As divisional opponents, these two teams have faced off this season before. Both squads have been playing completely different football as of late, but it is important to see how things shook out back in October. For starters, Sean Payton’s defense held Herbert to one of his worst games of the season: 237 passing yards, one touchdown and a 75.8 QBR. JK Dobbins led the offense with 97 yards, but the big detail here is that Dobbins will not be suiting up on Thursday, as he is still on IR for at least this week. Simi Fehoko led the Bolts in receiving, which could show that the passing game could get going outside of Ladd against a defense with Pat Surtain.
The Chargers held Bo Nix to a terrible first half, but he heated up to finish with 216 yards and a 53.4 QBR. However, the big thing to note is that they couldn’t tackle him when he scrambled. The Pass-rush couldn’t get to him as much as they chould’ve, and Nix finished as Denver’s leading rusher with 61 yards on the ground. On top of this, the Broncos have been much better as of late, most recently running through the Colts 31-13. For that reason, expect Denver to not put themselves in as big of a hole to start as they did last time.
The Broncos also have their own motives to win this game. They’re going to be facing off against the Bengals and the Chiefs in weeks 17 and 18, both of which are arguably tougher teams than Los Angeles. They need to take the easiest win and get one more under their belt, locking down a winning season and likely a playoff spot along with it. As the Chargers did earlier on in the year, they beat the Bengals before losing to AFC juggernauts like the Ravens and Chiefs. They got the big win they needed and therefore they could afford the other losses. If Denver takes this one, they are at worst a 9-8 team.
Once again, this game has all the makings of a true AFC West classic and one of the best Thursday night games of the year. The Broncos and Chargers fighting to avoid Buffalo in the first round. Oregon superstar QBs Justin Herbert and Bo Nix both having breakout years. A battle of two of the most respected coaches in the game: Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton. Only time will tell, but there’s no reason why this game won’t be one shown on NFL Network a few years from now.