The Los Angeles Chargers came roaring out of their bye week, jumping out to a 23-0 lead on the road against the Denver Broncos. Though the Broncos did score 16 unanswered points to make it look more respectable, it was a pretty thorough beating from Jim Harbaugh's bunch.
The win marked the first for the Chargers in Denver since 2018 and improved their record to 3-2 on the season. The win wasn't pretty, as most Harbaugh wins go, but it was a big divisional win on the road and those are not easy to come by in the NFL.
There were three significant factors in this win for the Chargers.
Biggest factors in Chargers Week 6 win over Broncos
Factor #1: Opening up the passing game
The Chargers still ran the ball in this game, but Justin Herbert thrived in the passing game, even if he didn't post gaudy numbers.
Herbert set season highs for completions (21), attempts (34) and passing yards (237) and he distributed the ball around nicely, completing passes to nine different players. The Chargers are evolving in many ways this season and the complete product is far from being put together. Once it is... look out.
Factor #2: Having Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater
It was a big boost for the Chargers to get their starting offensive tackles back for this game, especially since it seemed like both Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater would miss more time than they did.
The protection for Herbert in this game was good and that really got the passing game going.
Factor #3: Time of possession
This was probably the biggest reason the Chargers won this game, the dominated the time of possession. The Chargers had the ball for 37:23 while the Broncos held it for just 22:37. That led to the Chargers having 75 plays while the Broncos ran just 53. That is a recipe for success nearly all of the time.
It was a balanced attack that led to the Chargers controlling the ball. They also went 11-for-18 on third-down conversions, which frazzled the Broncos. The Chargers were a well-oiled machine for much of this game and that led to their third victory of the season.
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