The Chargers held a 17-10 lead over the Broncos when they took possession with 12:05 remaining in regulation at their own 32-yard line. Denver kicker Will Lutz just missed a 42-yard field goal.
Momentum was running high for the Chargers, but it was also running out fast. Following an electric 42-yard touchdown run by Kimani Vidal to end the third quarter, the Bolts followed it with a three-and-out where they overall went backwards eight yards.
Now with the ball once again, they needed points of any king to turn it into a two-possession. At minimum, they at least needed to bleed out some clock.
Here’s what happened to the Chargers offense from that 12:05 mark until the end of the game:
* Chargers go for it on fourth-and-one from their 41-yard line and are stuffed (Broncos score to make it 17-17)
* Justin Herbert is stripped and the Broncos recover at the Los Angeles 32-yard line (Broncos kick a field goal to take lead 20-17)
* Herbert is intercepted by defensive back Brandon Jones and returns it seven yards to the Los Angeles 32-yard line (Broncos kick another field goal to make it 23-17)
* Herbert is sacked at the Denver 46-yard line before he could even get the pass off on the Hail Mary attempt
The vibes around the Chargers were immaculate to begin the fourth quarter. They had a touchdown lead on a divisional opponent despite being down to three healthy wide receivers dressed and four rookie offensive linemen starting in front of Herbert.
Ladd McConkey was active but did not play. Quentin Johnston and Brenen Thompson were inactive. Tre’ Harris was injured and left in the third quarter.
Then, Jim Harbaugh entered the chat.
Earlier in the first half, Harbaugh used both of his team’s challenges. He lost both and the Chargers were without any red flags to throw throughout the final 30 minutes. On the third down play before the Chargers turned it over on downs, Herbert looked to have scrambled at or just behind the first down marker. The replay showed Herbert’s elbow down within inches of the mark, but the official on the field pulled his spot back nearly a full yard.
Without a challenge in hand, Harbaugh was powerless.
The power he had left was deciding if his team should roll the dice and go for it on fourth-and-one. Maybe the statistics said it was a green light and that’s what they went off of, but did the numbers take into account the offensive line? Did Harbaugh forget who was blocking for quarterback? Did he forget who was on the other side of the line from his rookies?
None of it mattered. Herbert was stuffed and the beginning of the end came hard and fast.
After the turnover on downs, the Chargers overall went backwards five yards while losing a fumble and throwing an interception, both of which came within their own 40-yard line. Three turnovers on three-consecutive drives turned into three short fields and 13-unanswered points for the Broncos that inevitably sunk the Chargers to 0-5 on the season.
The Chargers losing this game isn’t what is surprising or what most should take from this game. It’s how fast and violently they lost it.
Harbaugh by no means had to go for it on that fourth down. He punts up seven points with a little over 10 minutes on the clock at that point. He could have forced the Broncos to drive the length of the field and let Chris O’Leary’s group — who had been playing very well all game long — keep them at bay with plenty of grass behind them.
Again: Rookie offensive linemen, two off-the-street receivers healthy and a return man, and a hobbled Herbert. Harbaugh still felt strong enough to not just go for it, but put it all on his quarterback’s bruised and battered body.
This level of game management and situational awareness is not what the Chargers signed up for when they made Harbaugh one of the highest-paid coaches in the entire NFL. They did not sign up for a head coach that gets defensive when the media pushes on the team’s shortcomings. After all, if a head coach can’t handle some semi-pointed questions behind the podium, how is he going to handle the onslaught of outside noise now that will come as his team slowly headed towards a potential winless record through the first half of the season?
The Chargers are 0-5 for the first time since the 2003. If they lose to the undefeated Chiefs on the road in Week Six, they’ll be 0-6 for the first time since 2000 when they finished 1-15.
Harbaugh and this entire franchise can only expect the noise to grow exponentially with each new loss and low-point. If things are this bad after just five weeks, where in the world will this team be after the next 13 weeks?
Continue on below to read the entire recap of Sunday’s loss to the Broncos.
The Chargers won the coin toss and chose to defer.
Denver’s offense was up first and managed a decent drive with a pair of first downs before the Chargers defense clamped down just after passing midfield to force a punt.
Justin Herbert and the Bolts offense came out with two consecutive runs by Omarion Hampton, but behind a line that featured four rookies, he gained zero yards. On third down, Herbert found tight end Charlie Kolar for what looked like a big gain and a first down, but Kolar was stripped and the Broncos recovered inside Chargers territory.
It took the Broncos just four plays to find the end zone behind a two-yard run by J.K. Dobbins who waltzed into the end zone untouched on the play.
On the Chargers’ second drive of the game, the offense moved the chains for the first time behind some tough running by Hampton and Kimani Vidal. On third-and-two, Herbert broke from the pocket and looked as if he was going to scramble for the first down. Before crossing the line of scrimmage, however, Herbert launched a pass deep downfield to tight end Oronde Gadsden II. The Broncos defender obviously held Gadsden enough to warrant a DPI penalty, but the officials chose not to throw a flag and the Chargers punted.
The Chargers defense continued their high-energy start to the game, capitalizing on a Broncos penalty deep in their own territory to force them to punt out of their own end zone after a three-and-out.
After a 10-yard catch by Kolar to begin the next drive, the offense went three more plays, including a sack of Herbert for eight yards to end the quarter.
After forcing another three-and-out early in the quarter, the Chargers offense finally got on the scoreboard with a 10-play, 33-yard drive that ended in a 42-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker.
The Broncos responded with their own drive ending in a field goal, going 60 yards in 14 plays to bring their lead back to seven.
Facing a 10-3 deficit, the Chargers could have used some points at the end of the half before they receive the second half kickoff after halftime. Unfortunately that culminated in a three-and-out where the Chargers gained zero yards.
With a little under 90 seconds remaining in the half, the Broncos looked to get into field goal range quick.
On the first play of the drive, the Chargers were called for defensive pass interference (Deane Leonard) and the Broncos were moved forward 37 yards to the LAC 43-yard line. Luckily that early momentum disappeared after an offensive holding flag was thrown on wideout Courtland Sutton. Nix was sacked for a loss of five yards by Akheem Mesidor on second down and their third-down attempt was well short of field goal range.
Denver let the half tick out and both teams headed to the locker room with the Broncos up by seven.
Herbert and the offense came out of the locker room with renewed vigor. Facing third-and-16 following a holding call on guard Cole Strange, Herbert found wideout Theo Wease — who was elevated from the practice squad this week — for 16 yards and a first down.
Another penalty on the drive — this one a holding call on offensive tackle Daniel Brunskill — put the Chargers back behind the chains once again, but a 10-yard scramble from Herbert and an eight-yard grab by Kolar helped get the offense right once more.
On a third-and-seven at the Denver 30-yard line, Herbert broke out the front of a muddy pocket, juked one defender, stiff-armed another, and rumbled 23 yards all the way down to the seven. Two plays later, Herbert faked a handoff, scanned, then fired to a wide open Hayden Rucci in the back of the end zone for the first Chargers touchdown of the game. That score tied things up at 10-10 with 5:32 left in the quarter.
After both teams traded punts, the Bronos took over at their own 40-yard line looking to use the good field position to get back on the board. Instead, Nix attempted to scramble out of the pocket but was brought down by Mesidor near the line of scrimmage. Before Nix was officially down, Tuli Tuipulotu dove in and knocked the ball loose before recovering it himself.
On the very first play for LA, Kimani Vidal took a handoff off the left side. He charged through several would-be tackle attempts, bounced outside, and raced up the left sideline for a massive 42-yard touchdown run to give the Chargers their first lead at 17-10.
The Broncos caught a break after their offense went three-and-out by forcing one of their own against the Chargers defense. Bolts cornerback Isas Waxter was called for holding on the punt and the Chargers were pushed back nine yards before their second attempt.
Broncos receiver Marvin Mims Jr. took the punt and returned it 26 yards to set them up at the Chargers 27-yard line. The Chargers defense once again stepped up to the task and forced a field goal attempt, which Will Lutz missed from 42 yards out.
Having avoided a potential swing in momentum, the Chargers offense needed to take some time off the clock.
After gaining one yards across first and second down, Herbert took it upon himself to move the chains by scrambling on third. He was chopped down several yards short but it looked like his elbow with the ball came down right at the first down marker. He was called over a yard short and due to Harbaugh already using (and losing) his two challenges for the game, the Chargers were unable to have it reviewed.
Even with Herbert limping off the field the previous drive, on top of being hit low on third down, the Chargers chose to go for it on fourth down via a quarterback sneak. Herbert went nowhere on the snap and the Bolts turned it over on downs.
That sudden shift spurred the Broncos offense back into a groove. It took five plays for the Broncos to find the end zone and tie the game at 17-17 with Nix finding a wide open Courtland Sutton in the end zone from five yards out.
The horrible series of events only continued. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Herbert was stripped by defensive lineman Zach Allen and the Broncos recovered at the LAC 23-yard line. Los Angeles’ defense managed to hold them to a field goal and Denver took the lead once again at 20-17.
You would have thought the bleeding would finally stop on the next drive for the Chargers, but it did not.
On second down, Herbert was nearly stripped again but the ball somehow left his hand and returned to him before he was thrown to the ground. After nearly turning it over yet again, the Chargers actually did two plays later.
On fourth-and-six from their own 31-yard line, Herbert took the snap, looked left, then turned to his right and fired to Marquez Valdez-Scantling who was running a comeback route neat the right sideline. Herbert did not see defensive back Brandon Jones running underneath Valdez-Scantling and the pass sailed right into Jones’ arms.
The Broncos tacked on another field goal thanks to the short field to push their lead to 23-17.
Herbert and the Chargers attempted a final drive to comeback and topple the Broncos but the lack of timeouts quickly upped the pressure to 11. The Bolts managed to get to the Denver 39-yard line before spiking the ball with three seconds left following a 13-yard pass to MVS.
Herbert took the snap on the final play knowing he’d have to improvise to let his receiver get down there before lofting a pass. Despite doing his best to navigate the pocket and avoid pressure, Herbert was sacked before getting a pass attempt off, sealing their fifth loss of the year.
The Chargers will be on the road in Week Six to face the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium.