Chargers End the Curse with a Huge Win Over Broncos

philip rivers and chargers week 6 win vs denver broncos
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Chargers fans, you can exhale now. The fourth quarter is over and your San Diego Chargers won! No really–they didn’t botch the hold/snap on the game-tying field goal, give away two fumbles and an interception in the final seven minutes of the game, give up a 63-yard touchdown and fumble the ball with less than two minutes left, or give up 17 points in the last 12 minutes.

If those all sound like ridiculous ways to lose, it’s because they are. What’s even more ridiculous is that those are all of the different ways the Chargers have found to lose this season–and it’s only Week 6!

The Broncos were obviously the favorites coming into this Thursday Night showdown.

It wasn’t that surprising to see the Chargers’ playing so well in the first half–they’re one of the most productive teams in the first half this season.

The Chargers offense rode Philip Rivers’ arm and Melvin Gordon’s legs to a quick start. Check out Gordon’s biggest run of the night:

And here’s Rivers throwing to reliable rookie TE Hunter Henry:

The Broncos’ offense, on the other hand, struggled all night, with penalties all along the offensive line and off-point throws from Trevor Siemian.

But at halftime, a lot of fans felt the Chargers were playing too good for it to last. Fans figured the Broncos would make adjustments and stomp out the Chargers’ good feelings in the second half:

But Mike McCoy and the Chargers survived this one and upset the defending Super Bowl champs. In their trademark fashion, they took a 21-3 lead into the 4th quarter and never completely put the game away. They provided plenty of scares with a Travis Benjamin muffed punt and a fumbled kick return. With less than a minute left and up by eight points, they even allowed the Broncos to recover an onside kick. The Broncos drove down the field and came one big play short (the Chargers have given up plenty of those at the end of games in the past–if you’ve forgotten already, scroll back up) from sending the game to overtime.

This time it was the Chargers defense that came up with too many big plays to lose in the final minutes of the game. The Chargers’ pass rush, led by rookie Joey Bosa (an article on Bosa’s strong play coming), was all over Trevor Siemian all night. In the fourth quarter, they forced a holding call in the end zone that resulted in a safety. Then, the Chargers forced and recovered a Jordan Taylor fumble. With under four minutes left in the game, linebacker Jatavis Brown forced a Demaryius Thomas fumble that was recovered by cornerback Craig Wager. Still, it wasn’t until they knocked down the Siemian’s final Hail Mary heave that we knew the Chargers would win.

Now with tonight’s huge win against a big division rival, the Chargers may be ready to turn things around. They are a deep and talented team that has overcome a lot of key injuries. They’ve been saying they just needed one win to spark a turnaround. I guess we’ll find out in the 4th quarter of next week’s game what the Chargers do with the momentum of this big win.

Now let’s go to Melvin Gordon for the victory dance:

(Photo Credit: AP/Denis Poroy)

(Photo Credit: AP/Denis Poroy)

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