Justin Herbert passed for 237 yards and a touchdown and Cameron Dicker kicked three field goals as the visiting Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Denver Broncos 23-16 on Sunday.
Los Angeles (3-2) scored the first 23 points before holding on to stop the Broncos’ three-game winning streak.
Denver fell to 3-3. Quarterback Bo Nix was 19-for-33 passing for 216 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh briefly exited the game in the first quarter with an illness, which Harbaugh revealed in his postgame press conference was arrhythmia. Harbaugh was examined in the team’s medical tent on the sideline before being taken to the locker room for further evaluation.
He returned to the sideline soon after. Los Angeles defensive coordinator Jesse Minter assumed head coaching responsibilities in Harbaugh’s absence.
The Chargers, who had lost their last two games before their bye week, scored 10 points off Broncos turnovers.
Nix didn’t throw an interception in Denver’s winning streak after tossing four in the Broncos’ first two games, both losses.
Elijah Molden stepped in front of the first Nix pass of Sunday’s game, on Denver’s third play from scrimmage, and returned it 25 yards to the Broncos 31-yard line.
Los Angeles twice marched to or inside the Denver 5 during the ensuing possession but an offensive pass interference penalty disrupted the rhythm of the drive. Dicker kicked a 20-yard field goal to open the scoring.
The Chargers forced a punt on the next Denver possession and moved quickly upon taking over. Herbert led the attack on a six-play, 83-yard drive that used just 2:53 of clock time. Kimani Vidal, a rookie, turned his first career touch into a 38-yard touchdown, hauling in a Herbert pass after getting open on a wheel route out of the backfield.
Los Angeles added 10 points in the second quarter, on a 33-yard Dicker field goal and J.K. Dobbins’ 4-yard touchdown run.
Denver got on the scoreboard with 10:06 to go in the game, as Nix found Troy Franklin for a 2-yard touchdown pass.
The Chargers punted on their next possession and the Broncos took advantage. Nix found Courtland Sutton for a 15-yard TD one play after scrambling for a fourth-down conversion. The Broncos went for two points but Nix threw incomplete.
Will Lutz brought Denver to within the final margin with a 40-yard field goal with 59 seconds left, but the Broncos’ onside kick attempt went out of bounds.
Dobbins gained 96 yards on 25 carries for the Chargers. Herbert was 21-of-34 through the air. Simi Fehoko had two catches for 44 yards.
Nix also was Denver’s leading rusher with 61 yards on six carries. Devaughn Vele had 78 yards on four catches.
Denver was without cornerback Patrick Surtain II for much of the game. Surtain II sustained a concussion after a first-quarter collision with Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
–Field Level Media
