Los Angeles Chargers: 3 biggest factors in win over Denver Broncos

Travis Wakeman

Los Angeles Chargers: 3 biggest factors in win over Denver Broncos image

The Los Angeles Chargers came roaring out of their bye week, jumping out to a 23-0 lead on the road against the Denver Broncos. Though the Broncos did score 16 unanswered points to make it look more respectable, it was a pretty thorough beating from Jim Harbaugh's bunch. 

The win marked the first for the Chargers in Denver since 2018 and improved their record to 3-2 on the season. The win wasn't pretty, as most Harbaugh wins go, but it was a big divisional win on the road and those are not easy to come by in the NFL. 

There were three significant factors in this win for the Chargers. 

Biggest factors in Chargers Week 6 win over Broncos

Factor #1: Opening up the passing game

The Chargers still ran the ball in this game, but Justin Herbert thrived in the passing game, even if he didn't post gaudy numbers. 

Herbert set season highs for completions (21), attempts (34) and passing yards (237) and he distributed the ball around nicely, completing passes to nine different players. The Chargers are evolving in many ways this season and the complete product is far from being put together. Once it is... look out. 

Factor #2: Having Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater

It was a big boost for the Chargers to get their starting offensive tackles back for this game, especially since it seemed like both Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater would miss more time than they did. 

The protection for Herbert in this game was good and that really got the passing game going. 

Factor #3: Time of possession

This was probably the biggest reason the Chargers won this game, the dominated the time of possession. The Chargers had the ball for 37:23 while the Broncos held it for just 22:37. That led to the Chargers having 75 plays while the Broncos ran just 53. That is a recipe for success nearly all of the time.

It was a balanced attack that led to the Chargers controlling the ball. They also went 11-for-18 on third-down conversions, which frazzled the Broncos. The Chargers were a well-oiled machine for much of this game and that led to their third victory of the season. 

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Travis Wakeman

Travis Wakeman Photo

Travis Wakeman has been covering the NFL since 2012 when he started with Bleacher Report. After reporting about the Broncos there until 2016, he joined the FanSided network as a site expert covering the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers while simultaneously covering the Broncos at Broncos Wire when that site launched. He then took over the Broncos site at FanSided in March 2020 and covered the team there until spring of 2024. A lifelong Broncos fan and fan of the game, Travis is filled with sometimes useless NFL knowledge, but it always serves him well in any trivia contest. You can follow him on Twitter/X @traviswakeman10.