Chargers-Broncos Game Recap: Justin Herbert, Bolts leave Denver with 23-16 win - Bolts From The Blue

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Justin Herbert and the Chargers rode a 20-0 halftime lead to a 23-16 victory over the Broncos on the road.

The Chargers played their most-dominant first half of the season where they built a 20-0 lead at the half behind a resurgent passing attack coupled with a defense that recorded two takeaways from the Broncos offense. At halftime, Justin Herbert had already thrown for more yards than he had in any of the prior four games this season.

It looked like the Chargers of old, at least in that since.

The Bolts still wound up running the ball 38 times on the night with J.K. Dobbins leading the team with 96 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Rookie Kimani Vidal totaled just 11 yards on four totes, but he also took his first NFL touch for a 38-yard touchdown catch.

The receivers were led by Simi Fehoko who caught a pair of passes for 44 yards. Ladd McConkey (43 yards) and Will Dissly (26 yards) each paced the team with four catches apiece.

Alohi Gilman led the defense with 10 total tackles. He also recorded a sack and a pass breakup. Morgan Fox recorded the team’s other sack while Derwin James led the unit with a pair of pass breakups. Elijah Molden picked off Bo Nix on the opening drive of the game and Teair Tart recovered his own forced fumble in the second quarter.

However, despite all of the first half momentum, the Chargers offense once again went dark in the second half. They scored just three points after the midway point and once again put up a goose egg in the fourth quarter for the third consecutive game.

The lack of offense allowed the Broncos to make this another sweaty experience for Chargers fans as Denver scored 16 unanswered points and recorded most of their 316 yards of offense in the final quarter. Their three scoring drives to end the game spanned 95, 64, and 74 yards, respectively

So while it wasn’t truly a complete game by the Chargers in the end, the team continued to show just how defensively dominant they can be. If the offense can ever find some more consistently from the first quarter into the fourth, they’ll continue to be a tough out for just about anyone.

For a complete quarter-by-quarter recap of today’s game, check it out below.

The Chargers won the toss and chose to defer. The defense was up first.

Nix and the Broncos began on offense with two consecutive carries for Javonte Williams which were both smothered by the Chargers defense. On third down, Nix uncorked a pass over the middle that was a bit too high. The ball ricocheted off the fingers of Marvin Mims and fell right into the hands of safety Elijah Molden who returned the interception 25 yards to the Broncos 31-yard line.

The Chargers managed to push the ball all the way to the one-yard line but faced a fourth-and-goal. Jesse Minter, who was acting as head coach with Jim Harbaugh in the locker room, chose to kick the field goal over going for it. The kick gave the Bolts an early 3-0 lead.

On the other side, the Broncos were held to another three-and-out by the Chargers defense. That momentum carried into the Bolts’ next offensive possession as they marched 83 yards in just six plays, highlighted by a 40-yard catch-and-run by Joshua Palmer and a 38-yard touchdown pass to rookie running back Kimani Vidal to put them up 10-0 with five minutes left in the period.

kimani vidal's first nfl touch is a td | @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/D8GD2ZOroo

The Broncos finally got their first first down of the game thanks to a wild scramble by Nix who somehow avoided numerous Chargers en route to just squeaking by the sticks on his way out of bounds. The Chargers were able to stiffen up from there with Tarheeb Still ending the drive with a pass breakup on a deep shot just outside the end zone.

The Chargers began their drive with 1:50 remaining in the first quarter. They ended it 10 minutes and 29 seconds into the second quarter after authoring a 20-play that ended in another Cameron Dicker field goal to give Los Angeles a 13-0 lead.

Denver got going with a 13-yard carry by Williams to begin their drive. Several plays later, Nix hit wideout Courtland Sutton for another first down. On the very next play, Williams was stripped by defensive tackle Teair Tart who also recovered to get the ball back for the Chargers at the Denver 44-yard line.

On the third play of the ensuing drive, Herbert found McConkey for a first down on third-and-nine. Unfortunately the rookie was slow to get but managed to walk off under his own power. McConkey was also evaluated for a concussion earlier in the game but returned after being cleared.

The Chargers — set to receive the ball at the start of the second half — methodically marched down the field to get into field goal territory to at least secure some points before the break. Herbert got them all the way to the four-yard line before J.K. Dobbins reached over the goal line from four yards out bring the score to 20-0. The score was Dobbins’ third of the year.

that's j.k. for six | @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/YoNvo5Dd2c

In the final minute of the first half, Nix found Sutton for a huge gain to put the Broncos in field goal range, but guard Quinn Meinerz was called for holding. The Chargers held on third-and-12 before receiving the punt and kneeling out the clock to send both teams into the locker room.

The Chargers received the opening kickoff with hopes of putting points on the board on either side of halftime. After converting one first down, the Denver defense clamped down and forced the first punt of the day for the Chargers.

Los Angeles’ defense continued to keep the clamps on the Broncos offense. Outside of a miraculous scramble by Nix where he escaped a Bud Dupree sack attempt, Denver struggled to move the ball effectively in their first drive of the second half.

Backed up inside their own 10-yard line, the Chargers put together another long drive that spanned 11 plays and 56 yards. A sack of Herbert effectively ended the drive short of the end zone but Dicker was good from 46 yards to increase their lead to 23-0.

With a little over 10 minutes left in regulation, the Broncos found some life with their first points of the game thanks to a short touchdown catch by rookie wide receiver Troy Franklin. The Chargers had actually forced Nix and the offense into a fourth-and-two but the rookie passer pulled one over on the defense by committing to a scramble before lofting a pass over their heads to a wide open receiver who rumbled all the way inside the Chargers five-yard line before being brought down. The score minimized LA’s lead to 23-7.

Denver’s defense forced a much-needed three-and-out on the Chargers’ next drive. With that momentum, Nix led them down the field with a eight-play, 64-yard drive that ended in a touchdown to Courtland Sutton. Rules analyst Gene Steratore believed the call would be reversed, but the officials upheld the score. Denver went for two but the speed sweep was snuffed out by Denzel Perryman and Daiyan Henley.

With 5:15 left in regulation, Herbert and the offense went to work to move the ball and get Sean Payton to waste his remaining timeouts. On second-and-two from their own 38-yard line, Dobbins broke off a run up the left sideline for a 20-yard gain. From there, the Chargers were able to waste more clock before JK Scott’s punt which pinned Denver at their own four-yard line.

Needing 10 points to tie, the Broncos chose to kick the field goal after driving to the Chargers 22-yard line. That made the score 23-16.

The onside kick attempt did not get to 10 yards which drew a penalty for Denver, but an illegal formation penalty offset the flags and Denver got the chance to kick it again. THis time, the ball did go 10 yards but it rolled out of bounds before anyone could pick it up.

From there, Herbert knelt the clock out and the Chargers left Denver with a 23-16 victory over the Broncos.