The Chargers showed the NFL they’re ready for the moment by completing their entire divisional sweep of the AFC West with a 23-20 victory over the Broncos. Numerous players had situations where they rose the occasion, but no one did it better than quarterback Justin Herbert who willed his team to victory despite being abused all game long.
That gutsy performance has obviously earned him a spot on this week’s Winners column, but who else ended up joining him? Who made the Losers section despite the win?
Let’s go ahead and find out!
Winners
QB Justin Herbert
What a performance. I mean, what a stellar, ballsy, and gritty performance from Herbert in a game where he was getting his a** handed to him all day long.
Despite being knocked around like a rag doll for most of the day, Herbert still threw for 300 yards and the game-tying touchdown to Keenan Allen with a Broncos rusher nearly draped over him. Oh, and that was also after he avoided two would-be sackers to even break out of the pocket in the first place.
You can only say so much about how good of a game Herbert had when everyone around him needed it the most.
At this point, it’s only right that he’s squarely in the early MVP conversation.
WR Keenan Allen
The Chargers have played three games since re-signing with his former team during training camp and Allen has found the end zone in each one.
The Slayer has been as consistent as they come. In three games this year, Allen has posted stat lines of:
- 7-68-1
- 5-61-1
- 7-65-1
He’s on pace for over 100 receptions, 1,100 yards, and 17 touchdowns. That’s not a bad line for a guy getting further away from 30 by the day.
S Derwin James
James had one of the best games of his career against the Colts by stuffing the stat line via his Dime linebacker/slot defender role that earned him a Second-Team All-Pro nod a year ago.
By the end of Sunday’s win, James had racked up 12 total tackles (next closest Chargers player had five), a whopping four tackles for loss, and one of the team’s two sacks on the day. James was an immense presence in defending the run and the screen game and he may have played the largest role in shutting the down the Broncos offensive in the final quarter on Sunday.
RB Omarion Hampton
The rookie had his best game as a professional against the Broncos and the Chargers needed just about every yard of it. Following Najee Harris’ achilles injury, Hampton was given a large majority of the snaps in the backfield throughout the remainder of the game and he turned it into 129 yards of offense (70 rushing, 59 receiving) while scoring his first professional rushing touchdown.
Hampton had big plays down the stretch, whether it was gaining eight yards on a third-and-short or taking a flat pass for 22 yards on the team’s game-tying touchdown drive.
With Harris lost for the year, Hampton’s role will continue to be large for the offense. As long as he can continue to hit singles and doubles (with the occasional triple or home run), this team’s offensive floor will remain high.
Losers
Pass protection (especially OT Trey Pipkins)
Herbert was sacked five times and hit 14 times on Sunday. The entire right side of the offensive line (Mekhi Becton, Jamaree Salyer, Trey Pipkins) all posted sub-45.0 pass block grades by PFF and 13 total pressures on Herbert. More specifically, Pipkins allowed NINE by himself. That’s an insane amount and goes to show just how ferocious the Denver pass rush is this year.
The Broncos will certainly be one of the best fronts they’ll face all year but the Chargers MUST find a way to reinforce their protection or else this will come back to be an achilles heel for them at some point down the line. We all saw what the Texans did in the playoff loss in January. That cannot be how the 2025 season ends, as well.
Defensive execution on fourth downs
The Chargers forced the Broncos into a number of punting situations all throughout Sunday’s game. Only twice did the Broncos roll the dice…and they both went very well.
On the first fourth-and-two attempt, they found a streaking Courtland Sutton who essentially sprinted untouched behind the defense for a 52-yard touchdown just before the half. Later on, they faced another fourth-and-short where Nix once again found Sutton on a short crosser that he took for 20+ yards.
It was a horrendous day of execution in that the Chargers allowed the best receiver Denver has to be that open in both situations. That’s a huge hiccup that must be addressed ASAP by Jesse Minter and his unit.
