Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos suffered their first brutal loss of the season.
Now comes the first real test for 2025. Will the Broncos put the 29-28 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts behind them? Or will Denver stack losses on the road?
The Broncos enter Sunday’s game against the host Los Angeles Chargers as a +2.5-point underdog at FanDuel Sportsbook. The total sits at over/under 45.5 points.
This goes without saying, but Denver will need to play complementary football and be strong in all three phases
to get the big road divisional win (thanks, John Madden).
Offensive Rankings
Denver: Seventeenth in total offense (320.5 yards per game), 10th in rushing offense (134.5 YPG), 25th in passing offense (186 YPG), tied for ninth in scoring offense (24 points per game).
LA Chargers: Fourth in total offense (418 yards per game), 25th in rushing offense (85.5 YPG), fourth in passing offense (270 YPG), tied for 11th in scoring offense (23.5 points per game).
Defensive Rankings
Denver: Twelfth in total defense (303 yards per game), 20th in rushing defense (119 YPG), ninth in passing defense (184 YPG), tied for 14th in scoring defense (20.5 points per game).
LA Chargers: Seventh in total offense (282.5 yards per game), eighth in rushing defense (83 YPG), 16th in passing defense (199.5 YPG), third in scoring defense (15 points per game).
Here are the MHR staff’s keys to Sunday’s game.
Control the line scrimmage on defense
The Broncos were just trucked by Daniel Jones, Jonathan Taylor, and the Indy offense. The only thing Denver did well against the Colts was its red zone defense. The Broncos held Indianapolis to 2-for-6 in the red zone. Aside from that, last Sunday’s showing by the defense was reminiscent of the beatdown Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills handed Denver in the playoffs. Now comes Justin Herbert and a Chargers offense that is playing excellent football right now. And rest assured, LA offensive coordinator Greg Roman watched what the Colts just did to this Broncos defense. Denver had better improve along the line of scrimmage on defense, or this game will get ugly. — Ian St. Clair
Find different/new ways to get into 22 personnel
JK Dobbins and the Denver rushing attack have been producing chunk gains consistently over the first two games. Now teams are going to start catching onto that personnel package and what Denver aims to do out of it, so the solution is to get creative in how you get into that package. I’d like to see Payton shift in and out of that formation to keep the Chargers guessing. We’ve already seen some creative shifts last week out of him, so I’m sure we can see plenty more. — Ross Allen
Get Dre Greenlaw on the field
Teams will abuse Denver’s inside linebackers in pass coverage until the Broncos punish them for trying, and Greenlaw is the key to that. — Taylor Kothe
Show some killer instinct for once
Since the start of last season, the Broncos have gone 2-7 in one-score games. Their wins came against the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans. They flopped every other one-score game. These Broncos will never compete strongly in the AFC if they wilt against the pressure in big games. So far, that’s all they have done in the Bo Nix era. — Tim Lynch
Win the turnover battle
The stakes are high in this AFC West matchup, with the leader having the privilege of sitting atop the AFC West. The Chargers are coming off a game where they forced three turnovers, while the Broncos have given up the ball five times, plus several turnover downs over the first few games. The margin for error is slim on the road in Los Angeles. Denver will have to play a game of mistake-free football on offense, and the defense will have to force Justin Herbert into making some bad decisions in order to secure a must-win victory. — Christopher Hart
Score more points than the other team and do not commit a costly leverage penalty
The Broncos are 1-0 on the year when they score more points than the other team and would be 2-0 if they did not commit this leverage penalty. Unfortunately, they’re 0-1 when they commit the leverage penalty, so simply do not commit that penalty and continue to score more points, and they should upset the Chargers. — Scotty Payne
