Why Los Angeles Chargers will beat Broncos, why they won’t, and a prediction

The Los Angeles Chargers have a rare opportunity to start 3-0 overall and in the AFC West when the Denver Broncos visit on Sunday in a late-afternoon Week 3 kickoff. 

Those Chargers finally get to serve as an official home team in front of fans after spending Week 1 in Brazil as the “home” team before escaping Las Vegas with a win over the Raiders in Week 2 on a Monday night primetime game. 

To say this third straight AFC West game is critical would be an understatement, so here’s a look at why the Chargers will or won’t get a win and move to 3-0.

Why Chargers will beat Broncos

The Chargers start fast under Jim Harbaugh and he happens to apparently coach circles around Sean Payton. Even during a “rebuild” last year, the Chargers swept the Broncos by 23-16 and 34-27 margins. That was with an iffy supporting cast around a Justin Herbert often hobbled by injury. The cast has improved this year and Herbert is healthy, completing 72.1 percent of his attempts with five scores, plus 63 yards as a runner. The Broncos look shaky at best, too, with Bo Nix sitting on just four touchdown passes and three interceptions while just slipping past 0-2 Tennessee and losing to Indianapolis. 

Why Chargers won’t beat Broncos

This isn’t the best offense the reconstructing Chargers defense has faced, but old friend J.K. Dobbins leads a rushing attack averaging five yards per carry that could control the game. The fact that the Chargers pass rush won’t have Khalil Mack is a big red flag, too, considering how mediocre the rest of the depth chart has looked. Feel free to tack on the fact divisional games can get weird regardless of location, too. 

Broncos vs. Chargers prediction

Losing Mack is a huge blow, yet coordinator Jesse Minter has shown in the past he can adapt. He’s got plenty of film on Bo Nix, too, something the rest of the league seems to already be exploiting now that the surprise factor of his rookie season is gone. And at the end of the day, Herbert is playing some of the best football in the sport right now and gives them a huge advantage at the most important position. Maybe the Chargers won’t pull away massively, but betting against Herbert in the fourth quarter would be silly. 

Final score: Chargers 28, Broncos 20