A promising opening drive ended in a pick. Six dropped passes. A missed field goal, and a comeback that ended in the opponent providing the final exclamation point.
The sum of all those shortcomings was another Broncos loss, 19-16 to the Chargers in SoFi Stadium on Sunday, as Los Angeles prevailed behind Michael Badgley’s last-minute 37-yard field goal. Denver never led and quarterback Drew Lock failed to quell doubts about his future as the team’s franchise quarterback. Denver reached the 50-yard line with one second left, but Lock’s Hail Mary throw to the end zone was intercepted.
Denver fell to 5-10, last in the AFC West.
The Chargers began the game with Nasir Adderley’s 39-yard return to set them up in Denver territory. But the Broncos defense held Los Angeles to a 37-yard field goal by Badgley.
A steady mix of run and pass had Lock & Co. clicking on the Broncos’ opening drive, but the possession ended in a familiar, disappointing outcome. A few plays after rookie wideout KJ Hamler went out due to a concussion, Lock was flushed out to the left side of the pocket in the red zone and threw a pass across his body. The forced pass intended for DaeSean Hamilton was behind him, deflected and then picked off in the end zone.
The interception marked Lock’s 14th of the year and his 11th consecutive game with a turnover, the longest such active streak in the NFL.
After the Broncos forced a Los Angeles punt on the next possession, Lock — with the help of an effective running game spearheaded by Melvin Gordon — put together another decent drive. But the 10-play, 36-yard march stalled out and then resulted in a missed 37-yard field goal by Brandon McManus. The kick that clanged off the left upright was his first miss from inside 40 yards since 2017.
The Chargers promptly marched down the field and scored a touchdown to take a 10-0 lead halfway through the second quarter. The drive was capped by Justin Herbert’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Eaton High School/Western State product Austin Ekeler, and the play gave Herbert an NFL rookie record with his 28th touchdown pass.
Los Angeles extended its lead to 13-0 with another Badgley field goal, and the Broncos were shut out in the first half for just the second time this season ( Week 12 vs New Orleans). Denver’s uninspired first two quarters were marred by special teams ineptitude in addition to three drops, one by Noah Fant and two in a row by rookie Jerry Jeudy.
Jeudy’s struggles continued into the second half, as he had three more drops, including one on a would-be touchdown. The Broncos settled for McManus’ 30-yard field goal after Jeudy’s drop,
On the second play of the fourth quarter, the Chargers marched deep into Denver territory, but Denver limited them to another Badgley field goal to make it 16-3. But the Broncos, who had shown little resolve up to that point, suddenly rallied.
First McManus hit a 30-yard field goal, and then after forcing a punt, Lock engineered an 11-play, 72-yard scoring drive that was capped off by his one-yard rushing touchdown. Lock’s TD sneak made it 16-13 with 6:34 to play, and after Denver defense proceeded to force a three-and-out the next possession, another McManus field goal, this time from 52 yards, tied the game with 2:42 left.
But Denver’s defense got gashed by Herbert on the ensuing drive, as the Chargers drove 56 yards to set up Badgley’s game-winning 37-yard field goal with 41 seconds left.
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December 28, 2020 at 07:19AM
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Broncos comeback against Chargers falls short as Denver drops to 5-10, last in AFC West - The Denver Post
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