Intent on moving past some early-season frustration, the Denver Broncos will hit the road Sunday to face a team more disheartened than them.
The Broncos (2-2) will visit the Los Angeles Chargers in Inglewood, Calif., intent on reviving an offense that has been predictable through the first four weeks of the season.
In a 24-14 road loss to the San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday, Denver was held to 296 total yards and fumbled three times, losing one. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix completed 25 of 42 passes for 214 yards after throwing for under 200 yards in two of the first three games of the season.
“I want to be aggressive,” Nix said Wednesday. “… But at the same time, too many times I’ve been trying to do too much. In this day and age in our offense, I don’t have to be a hero on every play. I don’t have to do too much.”
Except the urgency likely is to remain high with first-year play caller Davis Webb under fire for the offense’s lackluster play.
“We’ve had some opportunities, but there are a handful of things that aren’t clicking,” Denver head coach Sean Payton said. “And we gotta figure it out fast, because we’re going into Week 5.”
While the Broncos’ rush defense is near the bottom of the NFL by giving up 142.8 yards per game, the team is in the middle of the league by allowing 23.5 points per contest. Denver pulled off a signature 30-26 home victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 but the team is 0-2 when scoring under 20 points.
This week, Denver will be without All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II, who injured his right ankle against the 49ers. The team is not convinced the injury will require time on injured reserve.
While the Broncos have plenty of questions to answer, the Chargers (0-4) have even more following a brutal start to the season.
While consecutive road defeats at Seattle and Buffalo might have been understandable, it was consecutive home defeats to the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders to start the season that have raised concern.
The Chargers scored a season high in points in a 30-23 loss to the Seahawks last Sunday. Justin Herbert, however, continued to look out of sync under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel by going 19 of 31 in the air for 189 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.
Herbert has completed just 59.7% of his passes, which is 24th in the NFL. His six interceptions are tied for second in the league.
While McDaniel’s input is new for this season, it is the second consecutive year Herbert is trying to overcome issues on the offensive line.
Left tackle Rashawn Slater is expected to miss time with a high ankle sprain while right tackle Joe Alt left Sunday’s game with a neck injury. Left guard Trevor Penning was checked for a concussion. That is on top of losing center Tyler Biadasz during training camp.
There is a chance Herbert could be protected by four rookies against the Broncos: Logan Taylor, Jake Slaughter, Jacob Spomer and Travis Burke.
“A player proves to himself that he belongs and you prove it to your teammates,” Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “They had an opportunity to do that in a game this past weekend, so they acquitted themselves well. I saw a confident demeanor, one that was ready to accept a challenge.”
If the team’s slow start is concerning to Herbert, not to mention the prospect of using an inexperienced offensive line, he refused to show it.
“The game doesn’t change too much,” Herbert said. “… Get the ball out quickly, (make) sure you’re avoiding sacks, eliminating turnovers, finding the open guy. If that’s what I’m able to do, then you can take out the pass rush as much as you can.”
In addition to Slater, Alt and Penning missing practice Wednesday, wide receiver Ladd McConkey (foot), safety Derwin James (hamstring), cornerback Donte Jackson (hamstring) and guard Kayode Awosika (fibula) also were absent.
The Broncos were without wide receiver Pat Bryant and cornerback Riley Moss (ribs), in addition to Surtain.
