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In the closing minutes of the 2nd quarter on Thursday Night Football, it looked as if the Denver Broncos were cruising toward a win in Los Angeles and their first postseason berth since 2015. The Broncos had already hung 21 points on the Chargers, the league's 3rd-best scoring defense, and were about to take an 11-point lead into the halftime locker room. But then a seldom-seen fair-catch kick at the gun cut the lead to eight, and suddenly, it felt as if the Chargers had found momentum in a loophole.
The Broncos were outscored 21-6 in the 2nd half, and dropped a crucial matchup to their AFC West rival 34-27 on what could've been a night that fans in the Mile High City celebrated a return to the Playoffs. Instead, a stunning loss has forced the Broncos to look inward and evaluate what went wrong at SoFi Stadium on Thursday night.
“We can’t allow ourselves to relax throughout quarters,” Broncos safety Patrick Surtain II said after the game, per Greg Beacham of the Associated Press. “I think today was definitely a moment where we realized that we let that one get away towards the end of the second half.”
Broncos head coach Sean Payton voiced a similar sentiment as Surtain after the loss.
“It was disappointing because there was a lot at stake, and we know that,” Payton said. “We had a fast start. I was encouraged by that, and then uncharacteristically this season, we didn’t finish or play nearly well enough in the second half, both offensively and defensively. Time of possession. The third-down numbers. Our rushing numbers fell off in the second half. Credit Los Angeles for fighting their way back in, and we didn’t make enough plays in the end. So we go from there.”
Loss in LA prevents Broncos from clinching postseason berth… for now
A win over the Chargers would've clinched a postseason berth for the Broncos, but even after the loss, Denver still controls their own destiny, finding themselves in a position where a win next week against Cincinnati would send them to the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. In reality, it may not even come to that. Denver could lock in a spot on the AFC side of the playoff bracket if the Colts (vs. Tennessee), Dolphins (vs. San Francisco) and Bengals (vs. Cleveland) all lose this weekend.
However, if the Colts, Dolphins and Bengals all win on Sunday, things start to get murky for Denver.
The Broncos remaining two games are against Cincinnati and Kansas City, and depending on how things are looking atop the AFC heading into Week 18, the Chiefs could have a whole lot to play for on the final Sunday of the season. Indianapolis and Miami both have favorable schedules remaining, with neither team having to face an opponent with a winning record the rest of the way. As long as the Bengals secure a win over the Browns this weekend, they'll still be alive for a postseason berth as well.
This is a complicated way of saying that even with half-dozen teams still vying for Wild Card berths, Denver does have the leg up.
