By Daniel Popper, Nick Kosmider and David Carrillo Peñaloza
Three games into the season — all against AFC West opponents — the Los Angeles Chargers are perfect.
The Chargers are off to their first 3-0 start since 2002.
Cameron Dicker hit a game-winning 43-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Chargers over the Denver Broncos 23-20 at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. The Broncos lost in similar fashion on the road against the Indianapolis Colts last week, on a 45-yard field goal at the end.
Denver had a chance to take the lead after Justin Herbert’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Keenan Allen tied the game at 20-20 with 2:37 left. But Bo Nix and the offense went three-and-out, and the Chargers needed eight plays, 43 yards and 1:43 to set up the game-winner.
However, the Chargers lost running back Najee Harris (torn Achilles) and right guard Mekhi Becton (concussion) to injuries in the second quarter. Rookie Omarion Hampton stepped in, rushing for a 3-yard TD late in the first half and finishing with 70 rushing yards on 19 carries.
Denver harassed Herbert for most of the game, sacking him five times and intercepting him once. However, the Broncos couldn’t hold onto a 20-13 lead and fell to 1-2.
Here are some key takeaways from the game.
Herbert steps up late
The Chargers’ pass protection was overmatched for most of the game, with Becton leaving the game and right tackle Trey Pipkins III being in and out with multiple injuries. Herbert, who completed 28 of 47 passes for 300 yards, was hit again and again and again. But when the Chargers needed an MVP play, their $262.5 million quarterback delivered.
Pressure from the Broncos’ front came on a second down from the Denver 20-yard line. Herbert bounced off one hit, escaped to his left and threw a dart of his back foot to Allen in the end zone to tie the game. After a defensive stop, Herbert then engineered a surgical two-minute drive to set up Dicker’s game-winning field goal. Herbert completed his final eight passes, leading the Chargers to victory despite less-than-ideal surroundings. — Daniel Popper, Chargers beat writer
Rookie fills in for injured Harris
After Harris left the game in the first half with what appeared to be a torn Achilles, the Chargers turned to Hampton, and he delivered — both as a runner and pass-catcher. Hampton finished with 129 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown.
He was instrumental on the final two drives of the game. Hampton had a 22-yard reception on the touchdown drive. He had an eight-yard rush on the final drive that moved the Chargers firmly into field-goal range. These plays are why the Chargers drafted Hampton in the first round — and they will need him moving forward, with Harris’ injury looking quite serious. — Popper
Chargers’ defense makes crucial stop
Defensively, the Chargers were uneven. They were leakier in the back end than is typically expected of Jesse Minter’s unit. They gave up a 52-yard touchdown pass in the first half to Courtland Sutton (six catches for 118 yards). Former Charger J.K. Dobbins had a 41-yard rush and finished with 83 rushing yards. Nix missed some open receivers downfield, and that was a difference in the game. Better to be lucky than good. The Chargers will have plenty to clean up on that side of the ball, but they made the stop when they needed it in the fourth quarter to give the ball back to Herbert. — Popper
Broncos fail to close … again
The Broncos blew three chances in the second half of their 29-28 Week 2 loss to the Colts to create a two-score cushion. They had three more of those opportunities Sunday and failed to capitalize on them. It’s the biggest reason the Broncos are 1-2 instead of 3-0.
The Broncos only needed a field goal to create a two-possession cushion when they took over midway through the fourth quarter. They proceeded to commit two offensive penalties that forced them into a third-and-long. When Nix’s scramble came up just short of the line to gain, the Broncos punted, and Herbert made a Houdini escape to hit Allen for a game-tying touchdown on Los Angeles’ ensuing drive.
The Broncos went three-and-out on their following drive, with Nix missing Sutton deep on third down. The ball floated just beyond Sutton’s outstretched fingertips, a perfect metaphor for how the Broncos have come up short in big moments against good teams.
That set up a winning Chargers drive that felt inevitable after Denver had squandered so many offensive chances. The Broncos dropped to 2-8 in one-score games since the start of the 2024 season. — Nick Kosmider, Broncos beat writer
The play that (almost) changed everything
As the Broncos lined up for a fourth-and-2 play near midfield with 46 seconds left in the second quarter, their offensive performance to that point could be described with any number of unfortunate adjectives. Perhaps ugly best sums up an attack that, to that point, had produced only 62 yards of total offense and had recorded only three first downs.
It all changed with a brilliant play call from Sean Payton that led to a 52-yard touchdown pass from Nix to his top target, Sutton. The Broncos lined up in an unusual jumbo formation, with tight end Nate Adkins sliding into the left tackle spot and the player who normally occupies that position, Garett Bolles, lined up as a tight end on the right side of the formation. The Broncos were selling a power toss with extra personnel to pave the way, but Nix faked the toss to Dobbins and Sutton, who was lined up just outside Bolles in the bunched formation, slid into the middle of the field, undetected by the Chargers’ zone defense. Nix, who missed Marvin Mims deep on a would-be touchdown pass earlier in the half, this time lofted the ball with plenty of room for Sutton to run under it and then finish in the end zone.
The splash play kicked off a stretch of 17 straight points for the Broncos in less than four minutes of game time.
It should have gone down as the play that changed it all. But the end result was the same for the Broncos: another heartbreaking loss in a one-score game. — Kosmider
(Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)