Initial thoughts on the Broncos’ 23-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5 at SoFi Stadium:
1. Was Bo Nix the problem all along? : The more things change, the more Bo stays the same. Please accept our apologies, Davis Webb. Please. A win is a win, it’s a win, it’s true. Still, with Sean Payton taking over the play sheet, the overall result wasn’t much better than Weeks 1 through 4. The first practice was a notable improvement – two first downs, which were the first in an opening practice all season. But that was just 29 yards in eight plays and ended in a punt. The Broncos produced seven points in the first 9 minutes of the game. They scored 16 points the rest of the game. This offense still hasn’t shown it can confidently travel the length of the field in any scenario other than 2 minutes. Of the Broncos’ first 37 plays, only two went for more than 10 yards. Moving the pocket with Nix in the fourth quarter helped, yes. But No. 10 still lacks open guys in the middle of the field, and at one point he drifted toward a sack he’s avoided 99 percent of his NFL career. If you’re a little scared to imagine what Seattle might prepare for Nix and Payton on Thursday night, join the club.
Broncos defense rallies to preserve ugly 23-17 win over Chargers: ‘It’s our job’
2. No Hufanga, no problem: For most of the afternoon, it was hard to tell which team finished 2-2 thanks to one of the toughest schedules in the league and which finished 0-4 thanks to all sorts of injuries (the latter was the Chargers, but you knew that). The Broncos’ third quarter, in particular, was a mess of missed tackles, missed kicks and mishandled footballs. But the loss of safety Talanoa Hufanga late in the third quarter was felt almost immediately as Chargers fullback Kimani Vidal found a seam down the left side of the field and appeared to break at least five Broncos tackles on a rumbling, stumbling 42-yard touchdown run. To Vance Joseph’s credit, the Broncos’ D responded, thanks to two fourth-quarter takeaways that will leave Jim Harbaugh sleepless for days. Zach Allen forced a Justin Herbert fumble and safety Brandon Jones threw a too-easy interception, sealing an ugly victory.
3. Finding Sutton late helped: Sean Payton’s playsheet had an obvious blind spot early on that even his reading glasses rarely saw: Courtland Sutton’s No. 14 jersey. During the first two and a half quarters of the afternoon, Sutton was not without a catch. The Broncos’ 1/1A wideout was without a single target. The 31-year-old veteran had averaged 5.5 targets through the Broncos’ first four games. Perhaps it’s a Bolts thing, in Sutton’s previous 30 appearances, the former SMU star had only seen two or fewer targets in a game once before, and that was in the Broncos’ 19-3 win over the Bolts in Denver in January 2026. In the nine games before Sunday in which Sutton caught two or fewer, the Broncos went 5-4.
4. The Chargers’ youngsters served the Broncos well from the start: The Broncos’ tackling, at least in the first half, looked significantly better than at any point in the previous four weekends. So, was it them, or was it the competition? Four of the five starters on the Bolts offensive line were rookies. The Broncos took advantage early, as they should have. The hosts managed just 74 yards of offense on 24 plays in the first half, running the ball just 32 yards on 13 carries (2.5 yards per attempt). The Bolts also had nearly three times as many penalty yards before the break (58) as the Broncos did after two quarters (20). For a Denver defense missing both of its starting cornerbacks and searching for its old mojo again, struggling Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel could have offered the perfect antidote early on.
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