The Denver Broncos trek back to California again in Week 5 to battle their division rival Los Angeles Chargers. At 0-4, the Chargers have had a disastrous start to the season. Meanwhile, the Broncos are 2-2 and are still working on playing their first complete game of the season in all three phases. Here are three storylines I’ll be watching closely on Sunday.
Can the Bo Nix to Courtland Sutton connection be revived?
To put it mildly, the Broncos have been underwhelming on offense to start the season. Neither the running game or passing attack looks formidable
or consistent. That’s got to change fast. Perhaps one of the most troublesome issues has been the lack of impact from wide receiver Courtland Sutton.
After their loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Head Coach Sean Payton emphasized how important it was to get Sutton going. With Pat Byrant out for the foreseeable future with an ankle injury, the Broncos desperately need their longtime ‘X’ receiver to produce more than he has thus far.
On 22 targets, the ninth-year pro has just nine catches for 86 yards. That’s an abysmal 41-percent catch-rate when targeted—by far the lowest of his career. We have seen the Nix-to-Sutton connection look sluggish early on the past two seasons, but this is definitely the worst.
Will there actually be an emphasis on establishing the run?
There are a lot of things Broncos Country can rightfully criticize first-year Offensive Coordinator Davis Webb for. While Payton and the players have expressed confidence in Webb’s abilities, the offense is currently one of the worst in the National Football League.
In my opinion, his feel for sequencing seems to be a drastic drop off compared to Payton. Moreover, his overreliance on passing has put a lot of weight on the arm of Bo Nix. Last week against the 49ers, the Broncos waited until late in the game to try and get their running game going. That’s too long in my opinion.
Both Payton and Webb have vowed to be more dedicated to the run game. Whether or not that happens on Sunday remains to be seen. The Chargers are a bottom ten run stopping defense and are allowing over 120 yards per game on the ground. This matchup seems like the right time to try and feed J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey early and often.
Nik Bonitto has been quiet start to the season. Can he get back on track versus the Chargers?
The past two seasons, edge rusher Nik Bonitto has been a rising star for Denver’s defense. Bonitto has posted back-to-back years of double-digit sacks with two Pro Bowl honors and one All-Pro accolade. Unfortunately, the fifth-year pro has started off slow in 2026.
Through four games, Bonitto has only one sack, four hurries, eight quarterback hits, and 11 pressures. There has been a significant drop off in his hurry, sack, and pressure percentages compared to last season. I can’t help but think the absence of Jonathon Cooper opposite of him, as well as the departure of John Franklin-Myers, has played some role in his production decline.
However, the Chargers have an offensive line that has already allowed twelve sacks on the season. Pro Bowl offensive tackle Rashawn Slater will be out of Sunday’s matchup due to a high ankle sprain. Along with some other injuries up front for the Chargers, that may provide Bonitto and his defensive front seven teammates with an opportunity to get back to being a feared pass rush.
