Every week Justin Herbert is setting rookie records for the Chargers. This week he became the first rookie in NFL history to have over 250 yards passing and three touchdowns in four consecutive games.

And yet somehow he’s only led his team to a win in one of those games.

Sunday against the Broncos Herbert helped the Chargers jump out to a 24-3 lead midway through the third quarter. Usually, that’s where a team cruises to a victory. But that’s when the Chargers defense collapsed.

From that point on, the Broncos got on their horses, scoring four touchdowns, three of which in the fourth quarter.

The Chargers were still up 27-17 midway through the fourth quarter and held a 30-24 lead with just over two minutes remaining. Only to watch the Broncos drive down the field and score the game-winning touchdown as the clock hit zero to lose 31-30.

This isn’t a one-time thing this season for the Chargers. They had a 17-point first-quarter lead over the Saints and lost in overtime, a 17-point second-quarter lead over the Buccaneers and lost, and an 11-point third-quarter lead over the Chiefs and lost.

They welcome the 4-3 Raiders next. Those Raiders are coming off a grind-it-out 16-6 win over the Browns. Meanwhile, the Chiefs won going away over the Jets to improve to 7-1 on the season. Their only loss coming in week five to the Raiders.

AFC West standings

1. Kansas City Chiefs 7-1 (2-1)
2. Las Vegas Raiders 4-3 (1-0)
3. Denver Broncos 3-4 (1-1)
4. Los Angeles Chargers 2-5 (0-2)

Week 9

Chiefs vs Carolina Panthers (3-5)
Raiders at Chargers
Broncos at Atlanta Falcons (2-6)

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