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The Los Angeles Chargers improved to 3-2 on the season following a significant road victory over the Denver Broncos at Mile High yesterday. The last time the Chargers defeated the Broncos was in October of the 2022 season. The Chargers appeared to have gained a measure of offensive cohesion, particularly with the early and frequent involvement of Justin Herbert. One notable offensive development was the debut of rookie running back Kimani Vidal, who scored a touchdown on his first touch of the ball, a 38-yard reception from Herbert. If Vidal continues to impress, it may prompt the departure of Gus Edwards from the Chargers, who played against the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks ago. Edwards’s performance, including a remarkable catch, provided a spark to the offense that had been lacking for several weeks. The game commenced with an unusual sequence of events. Patrick Surtain was forced to leave the game after sustaining a concussion during the Chargers’ first drive. Subsequently, Quentin Johnston injured his ankle and departed the game, and Jim Harbaugh exited the game with an undisclosed illness, having spent some time in a tent. Later, Ladd McConkey sustained a minor injury during a play in the red zone. Hayden Hurst also sustained an injury, prompting confusion and concern. Jesse Minter assumed the head coaching responsibilities until Harbaugh returned a short time later. Despite these initial setbacks, the Chargers began to find their footing on offense. JK. Dobbins had a commendable performance on the ground, while Herbert demonstrated increased efficiency and accuracy. It was gratifying to witness the offense finally opening up, enabling the defense, which had been stellar since the team’s inception, to receive the support it requires. Several players sustained injuries during the game, and it is hoped that they will recover fully and avoid missing any time. This team has had it’s share of adversity much earlier that we expected, Rashawn Slater was going in and out of the lineup most of the game due to his injury, Tre Pipkens was in and out battling injuries and you gotta give some love to Jamaree Salyer and Foster Sarell who’s doing a good job in the rotation. They may not be good enough to be starters but their excellent depth pieces that is coming in handy for this team and it was great to see Joe Alt back who quietly took care of his side of the field at RT. The Chargers had 222 passing yards and 130 yards rushing. That is a classic Jim Harbaugh style game. That’s what you call a great balanced attack. The Broncos were 3 of 11 on third downs in the 1st half. This Chargers team may not have the All Pro type players on offense like they used to, but Harbaugh has always been able to get the most out of the guys they have on the roster and that’s what we saw yesterday in Denver. This game had Jim Harbaugh’s fingerprints all over it and we hope to continue seeing that down the road for the rest of this season. Prior to this game the Broncos was finding themselves as one of the top defenses in the league. The Chargers did a great job of coming into mile high where they haven’t had success in almost a decade and immediately took the crowd away for most of the game with a fast start with Elijah Molden getting a turnover on Denvers first drive, and they just kept rolling from there. They had an emphasis to get Justin Herbert involved right away to get him in a rhythm and before Denver realized what hit them they were down 20-0. The Chargers were really good in the first half, was excellent on 3rd down conversions, and because of that was able to sustain drives and ultimately got them a big lead at halftime and they held onto It. Denver Broncos team, especially the defense is extremely talented, their very physical and can do so many different things with Vance Joseph, but Greg Roman and this offense was patient with the run game, the Chargers extended plays by having a high rate of converting 3rd downs that extended drives and wore out Denvers defense by keeping them on the field too long, and that allowed Justin Herbert to establish a passing attack that so needed for this offense. It got a little shaky in the end with a few breakdowns on the defensive side for the Chargers that made the score a lot closer than it should’ve been, but at the end of the day, it was not only a great win, but an important win on the road, against the Denver Broncos who was playing well and had a 3 game winning streak. This is the first time the Chargers defeated the Broncos at home since October 17th in 2022, and the the first time they took down the Broncos in Denver since December 2018. The Chargers held the Broncos without a point until the 10-minute mark in the fourth quarter, so that defense of Jessie Minter took care of business despite the fact that it ended up as a tight 23-16 score. The Chargers was only able to get one sack but the pressure was there the entire game as the pass rushers was in Denver’s backfield more than their running backs. That’s the kind of pressure Bo Nix was under all game, but to his credit he kept getting out the backdoor and escaping and began to create some plays because the Chargers defenders weren’t able to finish the play with a sack. Some of that was just over pursuing by the Chargers defense, and some of it was the athleticism showed by of rookie quarterback Bo Nix who looks to be a good one as he improves through the season. As the picture starts to clear you see the change in the philosophy and mentality of this team. When you look at the style of play for the Los Angeles Chargers this is a team that had 222 yards passing and 130 yards rushing with only 3 penalties for the entire ball game and the defense forced 2 turnovers. That’s smart football and so Jim Harbaugh. This is what we should expect to see with this team. They’re not going to have the splash plays on offense because you don’t have those type players here anymore, but these players have really embraced this mentality. Jim Harbaugh has been able to get the most out of the guys currently in the locker room and that’s what we saw in Denver. They’ve changed what they expect to be from last year to this year and the Win was impressive considering that this Denver team in particular the defense was beginning to find their stride and was currently on a 3 game winning streak. They struggle against this Chargers scheme. The Chargers got off to a fast start and they just kept kept it rolling. Jessie Mentor did a really good job forcing Bo Nix to play quarterback from within the pocket and he struggled in the first half now he started getting things going in late in the second half but it was a little too late. Mike Tyson always said everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth and it seem like Denver when they took that first haymaker in the first half they never recovered until the fourth quarter again a little bit too late because at that time the game was pretty much over. The Chargers ran 45 Offensive Plays had 246 yards of offense they had 16 first downs and they had the ball for 21 minutes and 13 seconds. They had 16 first downs and Denver only ran 20 offensive plays in the first half think about that. They had just 20 plays. When you get out gained in the first half of any game by 186 yards it’s hard. These are two of the best scoring defenses in the NFL with the Chargers at number one. Denver could not get off the field they couldn’t stop the run and now when the offense comes on the field going against a really good defense, they can’t get anything done. It’s amazing how a Head Coach can come in and transform a team this fast. Well the Chargers are not the high scoring team we used to seeing but if this style equals more Wins and a possible playoff appearance, I don’t think Justin Herbert has a problem with that at all.
Good summary
I was annoyed with the second half offense though I will admit the FG drive was excellent. Yes it was partly situational but this has been a problem all year. Zero TDs in four games now. JH10 being healthy will change that but I would like to see some better execution in the second half. Part of this is also staying healthy which I realize is also an unknown
I think you all get the point. Second halves were a nightmare under Staley – I would like to not be reminded of them for much longer.
@pistol495 You are 100 percent correct. We’ve been a season of two halves. We score the first half or the 2nd half. They need to fix that first sure.
Absolutely agree. I understand playing with a big lead can lead to a more conservative approach. I also think this team needs to keep their foot on an opponent’s throat.
Roman called a very good first half. The second was way too much of what we’ve been seeing.
@buck-melanoma Agree. For a while I was sitting here like I know we’re not really gonna do this right now. The Coaching Staff is too seasoned and too good to let this keep happening. Trust me I’m happy and should I say ecstatic with the win for sure, but I’m surprised we’re still trying to figure this out heading into week 6.
@chargerman463 Keep in mind how difficult it is to play high intensity 4 quarters football in thin-air, high-altitude, low-pressure atmosphere if you’re a visiting team from sea-level elevation. I played college football & rugby in Provo, Utah; it was always in the game plans to attack both defensively and offensively in the 2nd half when the visiting team has shown the effect of high altitude.
To get to the 2nd half up three scores was a great situation to be in. For how dominating the defense was playing, there was no urgency to be at full attack offensively while the Broncos would not be able to overcome such large deficit. Playing exhausted exposes yourself to injury, an unnecessary risk to take on especially after two many players have been dinged up already.
This was the balanced offense the team was working towards. It hadn’t gotten there sooner primarily due to Herbert’s injury. Not being able to step into his throws and to avoid the outside pressures was a huge miss in the offense. With Herbert’s improved heath and a healthy OL, this offense will consistently dominate defenses with balanced attacks.
I love everyone here, but just wanted to say, it would be better if there were more posts, more frequently. I have visited this site during the week and found no new posts several times. Frankly, it feels like BFTB was during Michael’s absence, just without the Rcky posts.
@tau837 I will be the first to admit that I’m actively on both sites. Since MP has been back, there has obviously been a lot of traction over there.
@lfg_boltz not for me. Not with the same BS that was a big factor in my leaving. It wasn’t just MP’s absence and the way Vox disregarded that community. It was also the trolling and negativity. I’ll never go back to that.
@buck-melanoma I can understand you feeling this way. As a matter of fact, I was anti-Vox for several months before I started noticing the high level of activity (i.e. posts, articles, editorials) re-appearing again when MP came back.
But to your point, it absolutely left a sour taste in my mouth that they simply abandoned the site during his absence. No other way to put it. And I’m still guarded.
@lfg_boltz that’s a sour taste and there’s just too much negativity. Trolls move in on game day, the same posters spew mindless bullshit….if this place folds I’ll just stop posting anywhere.
@buck-melanoma @lfg_boltz I still check both but rarely comment over there anymore. BFTB has superior technology and commenting software (Which is no knock on what Kyle has done, but just vastly different resources). Its much easy to “have a conversation” at BFTB.
Sadly, what has happened since the fracture is that there is just not much constructive discussion or engagement ANYWHERE at this point.
@blue-beers @tau837 @buck-melanoma @lfg_boltz
Totally understand the sentiment, and I apologize I haven’t been able to personally put out more content.
My “work” work has been very busy as of late, and after working it around taking care of my daughter, my time has been completed zapped lately. I’m still trying to get Game Threads open for everyone, but I have two more weeks before things clear up a bit for me.
When things calm down, I want to restructure the forum so it’s a little cleaner, and I’m brainstorming how to make the front page work a little more effectively.
Just remember – this site and forum was made to be a sandbox for everyone. Everyone is welcome to add more content, and everyone’s got a voice here. If you want a discussion about Eli Apple getting added to the practice squad, don’t be afraid to create it.
@kylededi My post wasn’t meant to direct any criticism toward you (or anyone). I just feel like I used to post daily at BFTB, despite the presence of more trolls and low quality posts. I appreciate what you have done to create this site, and I enjoy interacting with the posters here, but there just isn’t as much content (articles and/or other poster comments) providing as many reasons for posting.
@tau837 Tau- I didn’t take offense or think you were aiming at me at all buddy. I just know the “buck ends” with me since I launched this thing… and I’ve been flat out absent while drowning with work and family commitments.
That said – I’m doing some tinkering as we speak, and am hoping to create a structure and outline some basic expectations everyone can have for content each week, and for things to appear more organized on the forum so it’s more user-friendly. It will also help me get into a rhythm of routinely releasing content on a schedule, instead of feeling like every time I post it needs to be some analytical dive into something.
@blue-beers Hey Blue – have you tried commenting on the Article pages (from the Home Page)? It operates very similarly to the BFTB format, and in some aspects I think is actually slightly better. It refreshes lives, highlights the new comments as they come in, and has a couple features I personally think are a step-up… the downside is I’m not able to get as much content up as they can over there. However – for the Open Threads, especially Game Day, I think it’s pretty well-off.
I think the ease of conversation over here will increase over time, as I hone in on how to better organize and format the forum. Keep checking in and engaging and hopefully over time we’ll dial this thing in.
@tau837 I must admit I’ve been pondering this too. I will not go back to BFTB but I’m struggling to remain engaged here.
@buck-melanoma if I can give one piece of constructive criticism to the creators of this site, it would be difficulty of navigating through the various articles & posts. Maybe it’s just me, but I find it difficult to maneuver around this website.
But what makes me wanna continue to check-in is the people on this site. The level of knowledge that many of the regular contributors possess is pretty awesome. Unfortunately, however, the lack of posts is discouraging.
@lfg_boltz I agree with all of this. Many….not all, but many of the posters I enjoy engaging with are here. I’d like to see a few more but there’s also a part of me that doesn’t want the detritus that too often follows popularity. And I certainly learn a lot here!
@buck-melanoma Same boat, Buck. It’s really a shame. I truly enjoy this site, but the format still leaves me wanting. I check it daily but rarely comment. I read BFTB daily too but find myself annoyed by it usually. It’s toxic. I’ve never been a big fan of Peterson either. I don’t think he’s a true fan and don’t think he participates with the community nearly enough. No biggie. I’m cool with reading good posts by you and the other well spoken and knowledgeable posters that have come here. Big fan of Al and the Down Under crew too.
I’ve been a poor contributor the last month. Have a brand new granddaughter in Hawaii and I traveled there to stay with my daughter/son in law nd help them out. He’s a firefighter and gone a lot. Watched as much as I could, but no time to be on a site while helping out.
back in Montana now and will get more energy to be here. Miss you guys.
@spanos-must-go I’ll look forward to seeing more of you here. You’ve been missed. 🙂
Congratulations on the new granddaughter!! Hope everyone is doing well.
@buck-melanoma Thanks Buck! Parts of it were hard (middle of the night crying), but the saddest moment was my wife and I packing our suitcases that last day. This is my youngest child, and we are super close. Spent 2-weeks with her and her new baby. What a blessing, but leaving what so hard because they are so far away (Montana – Hawaii). But I plan on visiting her in February and looking forward to escaping some harsh winter conditions for a week.
I am amazed at what the Chargers are doing with the cap situation and roster that they had. They play hard and that is what I had not really seen with this team since Marty’s days. A hard-nosed football team. I find it crazy that so much was made of the fitness program under Herbert and yet here we are again with so many players hurt with pulls/strains and the IR list filling up again. It has happened under multiple programs and all I can chalk it up to is bad luck. When our luck turns and Harbaugh/Hortiz put together another offseason I am really excited. Hopefully Harbaugh’s health gets back on track.
I really like the number of passes. Justin looked good. I did not like the second half and did not care for the way the game ended. They let their foot off of the gas-pedal and that has been a historical issue for this team. No way that there should have been an on-side kick that put them at risk.
Overall, as mentioned above they are 3-2 played everyone tough and are building a better team.
Glad to get back in here and active again.
I’m admittedly a critic of PFF at times but they’re still one of the better analytic tools. Many keep saying how poorly Zion is doing. My eye test sees issues but not to the degree I read often. I believe Bozeman is part of the issue….and a healthy (or at least reasonably healthy) Slater is also a boost. PFF seems to confirm my evaluation.
I’d hand out a 6th….to Vidal. If used properly, I believe he can prove to be the pass catching RB this offense needs to utilize.
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