The Denver Broncos will face the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, hoping not to become the first team to lose to them this season. The Chargers are off to an atrocious start this season, while the Broncos have also underwhelmed despite Super Bowl hopes from many.
The Chargers have won five of the last six games played between these two teams in Los Angeles, with Denver's lone win coming in December 2023.
The biggest storyline for the Broncos going into this game is that of head coach Sean Payton taking back the play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Davis Webb. But what are some keys to victory for the Broncos? We'll take a look at those here.
Broncos' keys to victory over Chargers in Week 5
Justin Herbert must be pressured consistently
Last week, the Broncos faced a San Francisco 49ers team that hasn't allowed a single sack this
season. This week, they take on a Chargers team that has allowed 12. Only three teams in the league have allowed more.
Add in the fact that the Chargers will be without both of their starting offensive tackles and Vance Joseph should be able to dial up pressure on Justin Herbert that he has to deal with for most of the game, completely throwing off the Chargers' offensive game plan.
Bo Nix needs to make quick decisions
Regardless of who is calling the plays, Bo Nix can't be tentative with his decision-making process. Payton knows which plays to call to put his quarterback in the best position to succeed, but Webb was doing that and as evidenced in last week's film vs. the 49ers, he just wasn't pulling the trigger.
"Everything with Bo Nix looks hard. He's not throwing the ball down the field... It looks so EASY for Brock Purdy."@colincowherd breaks down why Nix & Purdy are on different levels pic.twitter.com/4D0J2ekbey
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) October 5, 2026
There's a solid argument to be made that the Broncos' stagnant offense doesn't have anything to do with the play calls but rather with Nix's ineffectiveness. Make your reads quickly and throw the ball, Bo.
Avoid big plays to average players
Without being too harsh, we'll call Chargers wide receivers Quentin Johnston and Tre Harris average players. They just are. But now and then, you'll see Herbert hit one of them for a big play down the field.
There's a good chance that if Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss suit up for this game, we'd hardly hear the names of Johnston and Harris on Sunday. But with both of those players out, the Chargers will no doubt attack the less experienced Jahdae Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine.
Both of those players need to be up to the task and minimize the impact that Johnston and Harris have on this game.
This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: 3 keys to victory for the Broncos against the Chargers
