The Los Angeles Chargers lost their first game since Week 3, falling to the Denver Broncos 23-22.
Stat of the Game:
With a pair of third down receptions on the team's first drive, Keenan Allen passed Ronnie Harmon for seventh all-time for career receptions in Chargers history.
Play of the Game:
Facing a 3rd-and-7 from their own 29, Philip Rivers tossed a short pass to Melvin Gordon. Gordon ran hard and plowed through multiple defenders, refusing to go down on a 32-yard gain. Five plays later, the Chargers scored to regain the lead, 13-7.
Turning Point:
The Chargers were up 19-7 in the third quarter and faced a 3rd-and-9 from the Denver 35. Rivers threw a short pass in the direction of Travis Benjamin, but it was picked off by Von Miller. Miller ran the ball back to the Chargers' 18 where three plays later, running back Royce Freeman ran it in for a touchdown to cut the Chargers' lead to five, 19-14.
It Was Over When:
The Broncos got the ball back with 1:51 left in the game after the Chargers were forced to punt. Facing a 3rd-and-7 from the Chargers' 46, Broncos quarterback Case Keenum threw a pass deep down the middle to Courtland Sutton for a gain of 30 to set the team up at the LAC 16 for a field goal attempt. After the Chargers tried to ice the kicker by taking a time out, Brandon McManus booted a 30-yard field goal for the win.
Bolt Quotebook
"We can't make mistakes. This is the NFL and it comes down to who executes the best. Every team is good and on any given Sunday, you can lose regardless of streaks. Regardless of what's being said on any given Sunday, you could lose." – RB Melvin Gordon
"We just made too many mistakes. We had too many penalties in the first half. In the second half, we had a lot of mental errors. We gave this team the opportunity to stick around at the very end of the game and left too much time on the clock. We had the final drive and we should've just put them out. We should've never let our defense get back on the field and that's what happens whenever you give an NFL team a chance." – C Mike Pouncey
"We didn't finish like we should have ... we had every opportunity to close it out and we just didn't get it done." – QB Philip Rivers
Odds and Ends
The Chargers outgained the Broncos in total yardage 479-325. They had a 384-217 edge through the air, while Denver had the advantage on the ground, 108-95.
Keenan Allen led all receivers in targets (12), receptions (nine) and yards (89).
Jatavis Brown paced the defense with eight total tackles. Brown additionally had one pass defensed.
Antonio Gates tied/passed Derrick Mason for the 18th most receptions in NFL history. He finished the game with five receptions for 80 yards and a score.
With his two touchdowns, Philip Rivers notched his 11th-straight game with multiple touchdown passes. Additionally, his 401 passing yards were the most in a single game vs. the Broncos since 2011 and the third-most of his career, overall.
Michael Badgley set a team record for points scored by a kicker through the first four games of his career before missing his first kick.
Michael Schofield served as today's honorary captain.
Inactives for the Chargers included Trevor Williams, Detrez Newsome, Chris Landrum, Cole Toner, Trent Scott, Forrest Lamp and Justin Jones.
