Broncos at Chargers Recap, Highlights, Final Score, More
The San Diego Chargers avoided another late game meltdown to topple the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football in NFL Week 6
13. 45. Final. 21. 13
Coming into their Week 6 Thursday Night Football matchup, the monkey on the back of the San Diego Chargers was the size of a gorilla. One blown fourth-quarter lead after another piling up in 2016, a 10-game AFC West losing streak, and so on all weighed them down. They then welcomed a one-loss Denver Broncos squad to Qualcomm Stadium. And everything seemed to change.
From the start, Philip Rivers looked like he had the number of Von Miller and the vaunted Broncos defense. He found Hunter Henry for a touchdown on the opening drive. Though Melvin Gordon was bottled up for the most part, the Chargers were able to use Rivers’ composure and a great defensive effort from Joey Bosa and company to keep Trevor Siemian on his heels. That led to a 10-3 halftime lead for the home team.
The defensive dominance of San Diego continued in the third quarter. Not only did Rivers lead three drives that led to Josh Lambo field goals, but Siemian and company looked as uncomfortable as ever. However, the fourth quarter came around and everything seemed to tighten up. Even still, the Chargers looked like they’d overcome their demons when they earned a holding call in the end zone for a Broncos safety. Up 21-3, it seemed like it was in the bag.
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Things started to turn for the worst, though. San Diego muffed the catch on the free kick and Denver recovered. They then put together their best drive yet for a Bennie Fowler touchdown catch. The defense then came up big with huge stops and looked to put together another drive. Unfortunately, penalties (the Denver plague all night on the offensive line) killed momentum.
Even still, the Broncos kicked a field goal to pull within one score with only 27 seconds remaining. Then, they recovered the ensuing onside kick with a chance to drive quickly and tie it up. With every Chargers fan’s heart in his throat, though, the defense stood up. In the end, the home team pulled out the win, their second of the season. More important, they seemed to exercise their demons and potentially head towards bigger things.
Three Stars
Jatavis Brown, Chargers – 14 total tackles, one sack, one tackle-for-loss, one QB hit
Hunter Henry, Chargers – Six receptions, 83 yards, and one touchdown
Melvin Ingram/Joey Bosa, Chargers – The duo combined for only seven tackles and one sack, but the quarterback pressure they spearheaded was disruptive and decisive in this matchup
Highlights
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/786728811178004480
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/786731826740027392
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https://twitter.com/NFL/status/786742461020315648
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https://twitter.com/NFL/status/786753138187378688
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/786759388077830144
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/786762953349410816
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/786762036352954368
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/786763812707770369
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/786766614129545216
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/786769322601422848
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/786772866897326080
Next Game
The Chargers will next play on the road in Week 7 against the Atlanta Falcons. Denver will be back at home for Monday Night Football in Week 7 against the Houston Texans.