DENVER — Sometimes the punching bag hits back.
That's what happened on Sunday when Chargersplaying with their backups, they put up an impressive fight against the division rival Denver Broncos, vying for first place in the AFC.
The Broncos won 19-3but both teams suffocated in defense while failing to establish anything close to an offensive rhythm.
The seventh-seeded Chargers (11-6) will play a wild-card game against second-seeded New England (14-3), which beat Miami 38-10 in Sunday's finale.
Denver (14-3) gets a week off and home field advantage throughout the postseason. Other AFC playoff matchups pit No. 6 Buffalo (12-5) against No. 3 Jacksonville (13-4) and No. 5 Houston (12-5) in the winner of Sunday's game between Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
Sunday's game was far more competitive than the rowdy Empower Field crowd would have predicted, as the Chargers' secondary defense battled them at every turn.
It was alarmingly cold at the Broncos on an unseasonably warm day.
The Chargers rested 14 of their starters, including Quarterback Justin Herbertwho made his way into the MVP conversation. But they couldn't do much damage with a backup. Trey Lance at the helm.
Lance completed 20 of 44 passes for 136 yards with an interception. However, he led all rushers with 69 yards, and in the final moments his team was in position to score the only offensive touchdown of the game.
The result was never in doubt because Denver's defense never budged. But the Broncos offense never got into sync.
Chargers tight end Auronde Gadsden II catches a pass against Denver Broncos cornerback P.J. Lock in the first half Sunday.
(David Zalubowski/Associated Press)
Denver failed to score an offensive touchdown—their only such score came on a pick-six—and got four field goals from Wil Lutz.
It was the Broncos' highest-scoring game since a 10-7 win over Las Vegas in Week 11.
The Chargers' Next Man Up matchup was against Bo Nix, who threw for 141 yards with a lackluster 78.4 passer rating.
Each quarterback was sacked four times.
Denver entered the game with the second-ranked defense in the NFL behind Houston with a franchise-record 64 sacks. The Broncos wore uniforms reminiscent of 1977—blue helmets, orange jerseys, white pants—and their defense was seething like the Orange Crush days of yesteryear.
Sure, it's a 17-game season now, but the Broncos are 14 wins for the first time since 1998, Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway's final season.
But these Chargers are no pushovers. They looked to remain undefeated in AFC West games and went 5-0 with plenty of backups, especially on the offensive line.
The game was successful for only one regular Chargers player: wide receiver Keenan Allen, who needed six receptions and nine yards to earn contract bonuses totaling $1 million. He achieved both.
In addition to Herbert, the Chargers offense that didn't play included wide receivers Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston and the entire starting line.
The Chargers' defense featured starters Derwin James, Khalil Mack, Diane Henley and Elijah Molden.
Denver running back R.J. Harvey was brought down by Chargers defenders on the second half Sunday.
(C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
They essentially had nothing to do in this game, and at halftime the score was 10-3. The Broncos went 81 yards on the first play…and had a total of 32 yards to go in the half.
With so much at stake for his team, Broncos coach Sean Payton was determined to keep precision football the focus. This included extra practice during the week before the game and no distracting games on the video board. He wanted the crowd to be as loud and focused as possible.
At the same time, the Broncos were uncompromising – they were determined to win – and unconvincing.
