The Broncos are back to winning ugly!
Ugly is the best way to describe this game. The Chargers played like an 0-4 team wracked by injuries, while the Broncos continued to struggle on offense and had lapses on defense. However, despite the ugliness, the Broncos and quarterback Bo Nix led another 4th quarter comeback and earned the win with the help of their defense.
This team makes the winners and losers suffer because they have been a complete rollercoaster for 4 quarters, but we will find out. With all that said, here are your winners and losers from the Denver Broncos 23-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
LOSER – QB Bo Nix/Broncos offense
Nix is once again having a slow start to his season. We saw this last season, when Nix looked on the outside, lacking confidence, and he and the entire offense tended to struggle. In the past, he didn’t say a word as the season went on and played well, but now, he just looked away again.
Sean Payton returned to the plays, but it didn’t help much. Nix was a bit shaky, took a few sacks/hits that he doesn’t normally take, and the offense looked disjointed again.
Now, it’s just not Bo Nix’s thing. The offense struggled throughout. The offensive line gives up pressure quickly, the run game is non-existent, and they struggle to move the ball and put points on the board.
With that said, they scored 13 points in the 4th quarter, including a Nix touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton.
Nix finished the game 16 of 27 for 123 yards and 1 touchdown. He also fumbled the ball on a scramble, which led to a Chargers touchdown on the next play.
It wasn’t good, and it needs to be improved, but they made the plays when they needed to and got the win. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
WON – Broncos defense/pass rush
Outside of a run play and a pair of third downs, the Broncos defense played well against this struggling and stifled Chargers offense.
They held Justin Herbert to just 121 passing yards, sacked him 5 times, had 3 turnovers, and came up big in the 4th quarter when it mattered most.
The Broncos defense kept them in this game and, at the end of the day, they won this game.
It should be noted how far from 100% this Chargers offense is. They went down all but one of their starting offensive lineman, down multiple wide receivers, and are struggling to get started. Even if the Broncos were down their top two corners, they should have dominated this game, and they did for the most part.
They had three stains in total. Giving up a first down on 3rd and 15, allowing Herbert to run for 20+ on 3rd down, and forgetting how to tackle a Vidal run that led to a go-ahead touchdown. Outside of that, they played well and destroyed any hope of a Charger comeback late in the game.
They will need this type of effort from this defense going forward.
WINNER – EDGE Nik Bonitto
Broncos star pass rusher Nik Bonitto had a slow start to his season, but he has been a big part of their defense today. He made a lot of plays in the backfield and had 2 sacks of Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
The Broncos will need Bonitto to get things going and keep moving forward. This defense is known for its sacks and needs to get back to having multi-sack games more often.
WINNER – EDGE Que Robinson
Robinson was the biggest momentum shift in the game.
It’s 4th and 1 with 10:35 left in the 4th quarter; the ball is near mid-field, and the Broncos trail the Chargers 17-10. Jim Harbaugh decided to take it and trust his big, athletic quarterback, Justin Herbert, to easily sneak it in for a first down. He does it often.
Not this time. Broncos second-year edge rusher Que Robinson threw him and pushed him back.
The Broncos would get the ball at midfield, drive down the field, and tie the game with a touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton. From this point on, the Broncos would go on a 13-0 run, and we can determine the exact spot where the game went in the Broncos’ favor.
WON – WR Courtland Sutton and RB JK Dobbins
The box score may not be good, but both veteran players have had a slow start to their season and had a big impact in this game.
JK Dobbins sat out most of the game, despite scoring his first touchdown of the season early in the game. He again looked to lack the explosiveness he had last season for most of the game, but he came alive late. He had some big runs in the 4th quarter and finished with 18 carries for 68 yards (3.8 YPC) and 1 touchdown.
Again, not great, but saw some live catches from the veteran back, and hopefully, we can build on that moving forward,
As for Sutton, he was virtually invisible for most of the game and finished the game with just 2 catches for 18 yards. However, his touchdown tied the game late, and like Dobbins, he showed some life. We need more of that from both, and hopefully, he can build on this momentum going forward.
He shows his frustration on the field, and again, his production is lacking. Just 2 catches for 19 yards on 5 targets. He was supposed to have a big play in the middle of the field late in the game, but ended up dropping the ball.
The production and impact we all, and maybe the Broncos, thought we would get from Waddle just isn’t happening. He’s dropped a few balls now, Nix is struggling, the OL isn’t consistently giving Nix a lot of time, and the play-calling is a mess.
They need to get Waddle fired up if they want to get things going on offense.
LOSER – Broncos offensive line
I’m not an offensive line expert. I always say this, but this “top-ranked unit” definitely doesn’t pass the eye test for me. Many times in this game, the pressure got to Nix almost immediately, and the running lanes for most of the game seemed nonexistent.
Now, could some of this be behind Nix and the Broncos? Yes, and probably. However, this unit doesn’t live up to its reputation so far, at least according to my eye test.
WINNER – CBs Jahdae Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine
Listen, I know the Chargers lack a passing offense due to injuries throughout their offense, but the Broncos are also down their CB1 and CB2 in Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss. Former first-round pick Jahdae Barron and reserve Kris Abrams-Draine are your starters tonight, and the Broncos defense doesn’t miss a beat.
Again, the Chargers had a lot of issues, but if you can get away with a game with Surtain II and Moss and get away with it unscathed, that’s a win in my book.
Barron played well in this one. He had a lot of good tackles and didn’t give up much in the passing game. Abrams-Draine had an INT called back by DPI but also played well and wasn’t the weak link of the Broncos defense.
Other notable Winners and Losers
- S Brandon Jones – WON: Had an INT late in the game and was playing all over the field. He was one of the Broncos’ top defenders all season.
- PR Marvin Mims Jr. – WON: Mims, who has struggled to start the year, flexed his return ability and had a 26-yard punt return to set the offense in good field position.
- DL Zach Allen and DJ Jones – WON: Both had a sack today and dominated in the trenches.
- EDGE Dondrea Tillman – WON: The reserve edge player made plays off the bench today and stood up to me tonight on several occasions.
- S JL Skinner – WON: The reserve safety and special teams made some key plays in today’s return game.
- CB Ja’Quan McMillian – WON: Game-ending sack on a Hail Mary attempt.
- P Jeremy Crawshaw – WON: Averaged 45.6 yards per punt and pinned the Chargers inside the 20-yard line 3 times.
- 3rd down offense – LOSS: Went 1 for 12 on 3rd downs today, which is…not good.
- Rush defense – LOST: While the run defense looked solid overall, a couple of big plays took a toll on the stats, and they finished the game allowing 155 yards on the ground. Needs to be better against the run and no lapses in tackling.
- Facing – LOSS: It only showed up a few times, but the Broncos had some expensive missed tackles. Singleton on a 3rd-and-15 play that allowed the pass catcher to advance on first down, and like, 5 different Broncos on the Vidal touchdown run. Shit happens, but it’s become a trend this season, so we can’t miss it.
- Commitment to the run game – WON: Although it wasn’t very effective, the Broncos ran the ball 29 times today.