The Denver Broncos beat the Los Angeles Chargers 23-17 at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. The Chargers lost the ball 3 times and gave up 5 sacks. Denver did not need a good offensive day to win. It needed the Chargers to make mistakes, and they did.
The Broncos converted just 1 of 12 third downs and averaged under 4 yards a play. Los Angeles also kept extending Denver drives. The Chargers were flagged 9 times for 93 yards, and 6 of Denver's 18 first downs came by penalty.
The win also cuts against Denver's pattern this season. The Broncos are 2-0 at home and had struggled on the road. This is their only road win in 3 tries.
How It Happened
Denver scored first. J.K. Dobbins finished a drive with a 2-yard touchdown run at 6:53 of the first quarter, and Wil Lutz's extra point made it 7-0.
Cameron Dicker answered with a 42-yard field goal midway through the second quarter. Lutz hit from 34 yards with 1:48 left before the half, and Denver led 10-3 at the break.
The third quarter belonged to Los Angeles. Justin Herbert found Hayden Rucci for a 7-yard touchdown to tie the game at 10. With 57 seconds left in the quarter, Kimani Vidal broke a 42-yard touchdown run, and the Chargers led 17-10.
Denver closed with 3 straight scores. Bo Nix hit Courtland Sutton for a 5-yard touchdown at 8:53 of the fourth to tie it. Lutz then made a 19-yard field goal to put Denver ahead and added a 36-yarder with 1:08 left to finish it.
The Broncos left points on the field, going 2 for 5 in the red zone. The Chargers scored on their only red-zone trip but came up empty on both fourth-down attempts. Denver converted its only fourth-down try.
Key Performers
Wil Lutz: 3 FG (34, 19, 36 YDS), 2 XP
Bo Nix: 5-YD TD pass to Courtland Sutton; Broncos passing 16-27, 118 net YDS, 0 INT
Kimani Vidal: 42-YD TD rush; Chargers rushing 34 ATT, 155 YDS
Broncos defense: 5 sacks for 39 YDS, 1 INT, 2 fumbles recovered
Lutz supplied nearly half of Denver's points, and his 2 late kicks turned a tie game into a 6-point lead. Denver's pass rush hounded the Chargers' passing game. Los Angeles managed just 82 net passing yards once the sack yardage came off.
The Chargers' run game was not the problem. They outrushed Denver by nearly 50 yards and averaged close to 5 yards a carry. The yardage was close, too, with Los Angeles gaining 237 total yards to Denver's 224. The gap showed up in turnovers, sacks and penalties.
What It Means
Denver moves to 3-2. A road win was the missing piece for a team that had been perfect at home, and the Broncos got it on a day their offense struggled.
Los Angeles falls to 0-5, including 0-3 at home. The Chargers led 17-10 entering the fourth quarter and were outscored 13-0 the rest of the way. That is the profile of a team losing games it could win.