Unfortunate trend continues for the Broncos in last-second defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3 plus other takeaways

Dobbins finished his day with 11 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown while adding one catch for zero yards. Rookie running back RJ Harvey was limited to two carries for two yards with three catches for 14 yards.

Sack, after sack, after sack for the Denver Broncos defense

Denver was only brought down Daniel Jones once in their Week 2 loss against the Indianapolis Colts. That wasn't the case against the Chargers, as linebacker Nik Bonitto had two sacks, linebacker Jonathan Cooper, defensive end John Franklin-Myers, and defensive tackle D.J. Jones all had a sack on the day as well.

Herbert and the Chargers' offense still did plenty of damage against the Broncos' defense, as the Chargers held onto the ball for over 36 minutes in the contest.

However, the defensive front played well in their Week 1 victory. Denver led the league in sacks in 2024 and could repeat in 2025 with more performances like the one against Los Angeles.

Bo Nix to Courtland Sutton is alive and well, even with the offense sputtering

The Broncos' offense was a mixed bag early in the contest. At one point, Denver had more penalty yards than total yards on offense, and it looked like the team would struggle to get anything going down the field.

Quarterback Bo Nix nearly connected on a beautiful flea-flicker in the first half, but it fell incomplete.

Outside of Dobbins, wide receiver Courtland Sutton deserves a game ball for his performance. Nix finished his day going 14 of 25 with 153 yards and one touchdown, all while not turning the ball over. It was his connection with his No. 1 receiver that should have Broncos Country excited for the future.

Sutton was all over the field, hauling in six receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown on eight targets. After the loss to the Colts, Nix expressed a need to get Sutton more targets, and that was on full display in the matchup.

It was an ugly loss for the Broncos, who had the victory in hand. There's plenty to clean up after a loss like this, but the team showed plenty of fight throughout. Some costly penalties killed drives, but the team won the turnover battle. Denver had 10 penalties for 90 yards in the game. For a team hoping to contend in the AFC West, its discipline and consistency will need to improve.

Herbert drove down the field with ease at the end of the game, ending it in the final seconds. A frustrating ending to another game for Broncos Country. For the second straight week, the Broncos were undone by a final kick. Until they clean up penalties and finish drives, Denver's bid to rise in the AFC West will remain just out of reach. Still, there is plenty of time to clean things up.