Winners and losers in the Denver Broncos’ 23-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers

The Broncos are back to win ugly!

Lousy is the best way to describe this game. The Chargers played like an 0-4 team that was decimated by injuries, while the Broncos continued to struggle on offense and had gaps on defense. However, despite the ugliness, the Broncos and quarterback Bo Nix led another comeback in the 4th quarter and came away with the victory with help from their defense.

This team makes winning and losing difficult as they are a complete roller coaster for 4 quarters, but we will find out. With that said, here are your winners and losers from the Denver Broncos’ 23-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

LOSER – QB Bo Nix/Broncos Offense

Nix is ​​once again having a slow start to the season. We saw this last season, when Nix looked tight, lacked confidence, and he and the entire offense tended to struggle. In the past he’s gotten away with it as the season has gone on and played well late, but right now he’s looking good again.

Sean Payton was back to call the plays, but that didn’t really help. Nix looked a little shaken, took a few sacks/hits he doesn’t usually take, and the offense once again looked disjointed.

Now, this isn’t just a Bo Nix story. The offense struggled throughout. The offensive line gave up pressure quickly, the running game was nonexistent and they struggled to move the ball and score points.

That said, they scored 13 points in the 4th quarter, including a touchdown pass from Nix to Courtland Sutton.

Nix finished the game going 16 of 27 for 123 yards and 1 touchdown. He also fumbled the ball during a scramble, leading to a Chargers touchdown on the next play.

It wasn’t pretty and it needs to improve, but they played when they needed to and came away with the win. In the end, that’s all that matters.

WINNER – Broncos Defense/Pass

Outside of one point play and a few third downs, the Broncos defense played very well against this struggling offense and pummeled the Chargers.

They held Justin Herbert to just 121 passing yards, sacked him 5 times, had 3 turnovers, and came through in the 4th quarter when it mattered most.

The Broncos defense kept them in this game and ultimately won them.

It’s worth noting how far this Chargers offense is from 100%. They were missing all but one of their starting offensive linemen, several wide receivers and were already struggling early. Even though the Broncos were in their first two corners, they should have dominated this game, and they did for the most part.

They had three flaws everywhere. Giving up a first down on 3rd and 15, allowing Herbert to run for 20+ on 3rd down and forgetting how to tackle on a Vidal run that led to a go-ahead touchdown. Other than that, they played well and dashed any hope of a Chargers comeback late in the game.

They’re going to need that type of effort from this defense moving forward.

WINNER – EDGE Nik Bonitto

Broncos star Nik Bonitto had a slow start to the season, but he played a big role in their defense today. He made several plays in the backfield and had 2 sacks of Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.

The Broncos will need Bonitto to get things going and get some momentum going. This defense is known for its sacks and needs to return to multi-sack plays more often.

WINNER – EDGE Que Robinson

Robinson had what ended up being the biggest momentum shift of the game.

It was 4th and 1 with 10:35 left in the 4th quarter; the ball was near midfield and the Broncos trailed the Chargers 17-10. Jim Harbaugh decided to go for it and trust his tall, athletic quarterback, Justin Herbert, to slip in easily for the first down. He does it often.

Not this time. That Robinson, the Broncos’ second-year edge rusher, got in his way and pushed him backwards.

The Broncos got the ball at midfield, drove down the field and tied the game with a touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton. From that point on, the Broncos would go on a 13-0 run, and we can pinpoint the exact spot where the game swung in the Broncos’ favor.

WINNER – WR Courtland Sutton and RB JK Dobbins

The box score may not look great, but both veteran players had a slow start to the season and had a huge impact in this game.

JK Dobbins watched most of the game, despite scoring his first touchdown of the season early in the game. He once again seemed to lack the explosiveness he had last season for most of the game, but he came back to life late. He had big runs in the 4th quarter and finished with 18 carries for 68 yards (3.8 YPC) and 1 touchdown.

Again, it’s not great, but I saw some late life from the veteran, and I hope we can build on that in the future,

As for Sutton, he was virtually invisible for most of the game and finished the game with just 2 catches for 18 yards. However, his touchdown tied the game late and, like Dobbins, he showed some life. We need more of that from both, and I hope he can build on that momentum moving forward.

He shows his frustration on the field, and once again, his production is lacking. Only 2 catches for 19 yards on 5 targets. He would have made a big play in the middle of the field late in the game, but he ended up dropping the ball.

The production and impact that we all, and probably the Broncos, thought we would get from Waddle is not happening. He’s dropped a handful of balls now, Nix is ​​struggling, the OL isn’t giving Nix much time consistently and the play call is in flux.

They need to start Waddle if they want to make things happen on offense.

LOSER – Broncos Offensive Line

I’m not an offensive line expert. I’ll always say it, but this “top rated unit” definitely doesn’t pass the eye test for me. Several times in this game, the pressure fell on Nix almost immediately and the running lanes for most of the game seemed nonexistent.

Now, could some of this be on Nix and the Broncos running backs? Yes, and it probably is. Still, this device hasn’t lived up to its reputation so far, at least according to my eye test.

WINNER – CB Jahdae Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine

Look, I know the Chargers were lacking passing offense due to injuries all over their offense, but the Broncos had also lost their CB1 and CB2 with Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss. Former first-round pick Jahdae Barron and reserve Kris Abrams-Draine were your starters tonight, and the Broncos defense didn’t miss a beat.

Again, the Chargers have had their many issues, but if you can escape a game against Surtain II and Moss and come out unscathed, that’s a win in my opinion.

Barron played well in this one. He made several nice tackles and didn’t give up much in the passing game. Abrams-Draine had an INT called back by DPI but also played well and was not a weak link in the Broncos defense.

Other notable winners and losers