{"id":260862,"date":"2025-12-30T14:30:39","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T19:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=260862"},"modified":"2025-12-30T14:06:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T19:06:23","slug":"how-the-broncos-can-beat-the-chargers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/30\/how-the-broncos-can-beat-the-chargers\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Broncos Can Beat the Chargers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Denver Broncos<\/a> are AFC West Champions for the first time since 2015. Still, the job is not finished for them, as they have to win their next matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> to remain the number one seed in the AFC and clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh<\/a> announced that quarterback Justin Herbert<\/a> will not play, while Trey Lance<\/a> will be starting on Sunday<\/a>. Since it\u2019s another divisional matchup, this game will most likely be close and intense as well.<\/p>\n

Even without Herbert playing, the Broncos will still need to execute as well as they can to win this game. Here\u2019s what it’s going to take for them to beat the Chargers.<\/p>\n

\"Courtland
Dec 21, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton (14) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Utilize all of their offensive weapons<\/h2>\n

A key to beating the Chargers will depend on how efficiently the Broncos can use their wide receivers and running backs. Los Angeles is coming off a loss to the Houston Texans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

C.J. Stroud<\/a> threw two long touchdowns, with one being for 75 yards and the other for 43 yards. Houston wide receivers Jayden Higgins<\/a>, Nico Collins<\/a>, Jaylin Noel<\/a>, and Xavier Hutchinson<\/a> each averaged more than 10 yards per catch. Texans running back Woody Marks<\/a> also carried the ball 19 times for 71 yards.<\/p>\n

The Broncos can learn a lot from the Chargers’ most recent defensive performance. At the same time, they should emphasize getting Courtland Sutton<\/a> involved, as he is very skilled at catching deep balls. It\u2019s also vital that Denver gets other players involved, such as Troy Franklin<\/a> and Marvin Mims Jr<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RJ Harvey<\/a> and Jaleel McLaughlin<\/a> should also have a significant role in the run game, while Bo Nix<\/a> shouldn\u2019t hesitate to run the ball if he can\u2019t find an open man down the field. Having a balance between the run and pass game will be essential as the Chargers’ defense emphasizes taking away the big plays.<\/p>\n

\"RJ
Nov 2, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey (12) runs against Houston Texans safety M.J. Stewart (29) during the second half at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Avoid turnovers<\/h3>\n

The Texans’ offense initially gave the Chargers problems, but turnovers were what kept them in the game as Stroud threw two interceptions. Nix should try to be more accurate when throwing the ball, but also avoid throwing any interceptions at all costs.<\/p>\n

In last week’s matchup against the Chiefs<\/a>, Kansas City was able to capitalize and score a touchdown off the lone interception Nix threw. Ball security will also be important in Sunday\u2019s game, while fumbles can be an even more costly type of turnover.<\/p>\n

Turning the ball over not only helps the opposing team but also harms the defense. Even though Denver has been known this season for its tenacious defense, it tires at times. It becomes more vulnerable when the offense fails to capitalize on scoring opportunities.<\/p>\n

\"Trey
Nov 30, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Trey Lance (5) drops back to pass against the Las Vegas Raiders during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Put pressure on the Chargers’ offense<\/h3>\n

The Broncos’ defense has done a phenomenal job of sacking the quarterback this season, combining for 64 sacks so far. However, they didn\u2019t do a great job getting to the quarterback last week.<\/p>\n

That will have to change if they want to improve their chances of beating the Chargers, because even though Herbert will not be playing, Lance is a much more experienced quarterback compared to Chris Oladokun.<\/p>\n

The Texans sacked Herbert five times and even recorded an interception. Denver has a talented defense, and if it can pressure Lance and sack him a few times, he may be more likely to throw an interception.<\/p>\n

The Chargers have a solid receiving core in Ladd McConkey<\/a>, Keenan Allen<\/a>, and Quentin Johnston<\/a>. The Broncos’ defense will also need to contain tight end Oronde Gadsden<\/a> and running back Omarion Hampton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The priority should be limiting McConkey and Allen, who lead the Chargers in receiving yards, respectively. Both receivers had a combined two receptions for 48 yards against the Texans. Johnston could also be a threat as he led the Chargers last week with five receptions for 98 yards.<\/p>\n

Stopping the run game will also be very essential, as Hampton rushed for less than 30 yards while averaging 2.1 yards per carry last week. He still managed to score a rushing touchdown and has shown he can catch passes out of the backfield, both of which the defense should try to prevent.<\/p>\n

Finally, the Broncos’ defense must be disciplined and realize that the Chargers may use their running backs and wide receivers as decoys to get Gadsden more involved, as he scored a touchdown in the red zone last week after being wide open.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: [Jay Biggerstaff] – Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Denver Broncos are playoff-bound but still need one more win to remain the first seed for the playoffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5728,"featured_media":260990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[32094,3588,32330,32986,7059,32424],"class_list":["post-260862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broncos","tag-bo-nix","tag-courtland-sutton","tag-ladd-mcconkey","tag-rj-harvey","tag-trey-lance","tag-troy-franklin"],"modified_by":"Michael Zimmelman","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5728"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260862"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":260992,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260862\/revisions\/260992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}