The Chargers came up big in the second half to complete the season sweep against the Denver Broncos, clinching a winning season and moving past them in the standings.
The game started worrisome for the Chargers defense. They let up a quick touchdown to Denver, and the run defense did not stop anything. The offense answered back, however, with a well-put-together drive ending with Gus Edwards punching in a touchdown. The Broncos struck again on their next drive with Devaughn Vele catching the touchdown from Bo Nix. The Chargers began to fall behind this time because they could only answer with a field goal.
L.A. were down 14-10. Denver put it in the end zone again with Nix connecting with Vele for their second touchdown. Justin Herbert threw his third interception on the season later on in the second quarter, but the Broncos couldn’t capitalize on the takeaway. This is when momentum shifted. On the punt, Derius Davis was hit on his fair catch, putting the Chargers in perfect position for a free kick. Cameron Dicker was faced with a 57-yard free kick that he made, marking it as the first made free kick since the 1970s.
The Second half was a different story for the Chargers. They started by holding the Broncos to a field goal, keeping the deficit at 24-13. The offense came alive to begin the half, with Gus Edwards punching in another to make it a one-possession game. They missed the two-point attempt, so they were still down five. They scored on their next drive, Justin Herbert making an inhuman throw to Derius Davis to take their first lead.
They went for two again, with Josh Palmer making a tip drill catch, one of the best grabs of the season. Gus Edwards put the nail in the coffin with a 43-yard run and multiple missed tackles forced. Hassan Haskins brought the ball in to take a 34-24 lead. The Broncos did make a field goal in their last drive, but they couldn’t get the onside kick to make it a game again. The Chargers took home the 34-27 win.
The MVP of this game was Justin Herbert. He didn’t have his best game of the season, but he was still very productive. Herbert threw for 284 yards and ran for 28 on 23/31 passing. He did throw an interception, but it didn’t make too much of a difference. The ball was so far downfield that the Broncos had a bad field position, and it didn’t feel like much of a game-changer for Denver. Other than that, Herbert threw for two touchdowns and is the reason the running game got going in the first place. Gus Edwards deserves a lot of credit for his monster run to put the Broncos to bed, but he didn’t do enough to take home the honor of performance of the night.
With the win, they will likely avoid playing in Buffalo in January. This is a huge win for the Bolts because the last thing any Southern California team wants to do is chance playing in a lake effect snow storm or even freezing weather in general. Both of their previous games are very winnable, seeing that they will face New England and Las Vegas, two teams looking for losses at this point of the season. The Raiders always play the Chargers hard, but they will likely be trying to lose to guarantee the pick to take Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders, who has shown great interest in playing for the team. For that reason, these last two games could essentially be penciled in as wins for the Chargers (not guaranteed, but worth doing for postseason scenarios).
Currently, the Chargers are the sixth seed in the AFC and will face the Steelers in Pittsburgh if the playoffs start today. However, two more wins and a couple of Ravens losses could help them advance to the fifth seed. If they secure the top Wild Card, they will travel to Houston and face a beatable Texans team. Houston would be the ideal scenario for Los Angeles, but anything is better to them than playing the Bills in the playoffs.
This match starkly contrasts most close games the Chargers have grown accustomed to over the years. They started the game with a stagnant offense and a defense that couldn’t stop a nosebleed. They let the Broncos score on every drive, and every gain they got on offense seemed lucky. The second half was a different story. The offense came alive, the defense came up big in the biggest moments, and they got the momentum-shifting plays that helped them come back.
Most memorable Chargers games are the opposite. That great performance happens in the first half, and they look like a completely different, much worse team coming out of the locker room. These Bolts may not be as talented as some other Chargers teams in the past, but they can respond to adversity as well as any team they’ve ever put together.