While the Los Angeles Chargers have a terrible defense, one player is an immense, obvious threat to the Denver Broncos. That would be Khalil Mack, who leads the NFL with 15 sacks this season.
Mack has 12 career sacks against the Broncos. What makes him such a threat over some of the other talented defenders on L.A.'s lackluster defense is who Mack will face off with on Sunday.
Mack primarily rushes off the left tackle side, which he has done 371 times this season. However, the Chargers have flipped him based on matchups, and he has seen 287 snaps against the right tackle. That's where the 'obvious' aspect comes into play in how Mack threatens Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey.
Before we get to McGlinchey, there's more to Mack's game than his pass rush. He's having the best season of his career as a run defender, which is saying something, as Mack has always been great in that area. In Year 10, he is having his best year there, which is impressive when combined with his being poised to hit a career-high in sacks.
The Chargers also have another pass rusher in Tuli Tuipulotu, who works well with Mack. They're a dangerous duo, even though Tuipulotu is still a rookie putting it all together. His play is why they can flip Mack around so much.
The Chargers also have two capable interior pass rushers that help out. Despite the Chargers being a terrible defense, they have a good pass rush.
L.A. has the third-highest blitz rate on both second and third down, which is exactly where the Broncos' offense struggles. Denver has to win on first down to set up more manageable situations on second and third, and that's been a shortcoming of late.
Now, Bolles has been having a good season, but no one will forget when Mack once tore a Broncos tackle to pieces to the tune of notching five sacks in a single game. Broncos Country is still traumatized from Mack's brutalization of Michael Schofield.
The focal point here is McGlinchey, who has been one of the worst tackles in the NFL this season. Out of 52 total tackles, he has the 43rd-lowest pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, allowing the 10th-most sacks, fourth-most QB hits, and sixth-most hurries. That leads to the second-highest total pressure count and the worst pass-blocking efficiency rating in the league.
On top of that, McGlinchey has been the 11th-highest penalized tackle in the NFL. Needless to say, the big free-agent signing has not lived up to the contract or expectations.
Despite his issues in pass protection, McGlinchey has the 19th-highest run-blocking grade out of 61 total tackles with at least 450 blocking snaps via PFF. That's the only thing he has done well this season. This has easily been the worst season of his career.
The Chargers' defensive staff will see the apparent weakness and want to put their best pass rusher against McGlinchey early and often. The Broncos have to have an answer to Mack vs. McGlinchey; otherwise, the perennial All-Pro edge rusher could easily control the game, much like Will Anderson Jr did for the Houston Texans.
Considering how McGlinchey has performed this season, asking him to handle Mack or even Tuipulotu in one-on-ones would be akin to courting disaster. It's a shame the Broncos can't place trust in their $87.5 million right tackle — the third highest-paid right tackle in the NFL — to match up with an elite edge presence with a history of punishing Denver.
The Broncos need McGlinchey to turn it around because they're stuck with him until after the 2025 season unless they can find a trade partner.
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