Instant analysis of Chargers’ 23-20 loss to Broncos

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez delivers his thoughts from the Chargers’ 23-20 loss to the Broncos.

The Chargers were hit with another gut-punch on Sunday.

Los Angeles lost on a game-winning 53-yard field goal by Broncos kicker Brandon McManus as time expired. The field goal was set up by a questionable defensive pass interference call against cornerback Casey Hayward, putting Denver in field goal range.

With the loss, the Chargers drop to 4-8 on the season.

Here is our instant analysis from the Week 13 matchup.

Injury Report

There weren’t any notable injuries in today’s game.

Play of the Game: Mike Williams’ 38-yard reception

On 4th-and-11 with a little over two minutes left, Williams came up clutch again with a monstrous reception. He fell, got up and brought in the ball with his left hand over cornerback Isaac Yiadom.

Notable Number

17: 17 of the Chargers’ last 25 games have been decided by a single possession.

Quick Takes

  • Quarterback Philip Rivers looked like he was going to get benched in favor of Tyrod Taylor early on when he looked rattled and was missing his receivers, but he turned it around towards the end of the half when he found running back Austin Ekeler for the score.
  • Rivers’ second half was more promising. He benefitted from running backs Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler in the short passing game, wide open receivers and big catches from his pass-catchers, including Williams’ reception on fourth-down.
  • It was evident with the 29 carries that the Chargers wanted to revolve around the running game to bring them success instead of having the same episode of the past two games. Running backs Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler combined for 115 yards (4.0 yards per carry)
  • Three sacks may suggest that it was a poor performance from the offensive line, but on two of them, Rivers had time to get rid of the ball and elected to walk into the pressure.
  • The battle between WR Keenan Allen and CB Chris Harris Jr. went in favor Allen, who had six receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown.
  • As for the matchup between CB Casey Hayward and WR Courtland Sutton, Sutton got the best of Hayward, as he amassed four receptions for 74 yards and two scores.
  • Despite what the scoreboard shows, the Chargers defense had a phenomenal outing, holding the Broncos to 218 total yards.
  • Led by linebacker Drue Tranquill and his three tackles for loss, Denver’s running game was held to 84 yards on the ground.
  • Safety Derwin James was used all over the field, but he made his biggest impact as a pass rusher, putting rookie Drew Lock under duress on a few plays. Adrian Phillips delivered some huge blows and came up big on third-down situations.

Up Next

The Chargers travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars next Sunday, Dec. 8 at 1:05 p.m. PT.

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