Philip Rivers' late-game comeback falls short in loss to Broncos
DENVER — They haven’t won here since 2013, and hiring a new head coach or moving to a new city didn’t change the luck of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Penalties and missed opportunities led to the Chargers’ demise as they dropped the season opener on the road against the Denver Broncos, 24-21.
The Chargers have now lost their last four straight appearances on Monday Night Football and are 22-23 all-time in the prime-time contest.
Mistakes were costly for the Chargers early in this one.
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A Keenan Allen dropped pass stopped a promising drive in the opening quarter. Allen finished with two drops on the day. According to ESPN Stats & Information, it’s the first time in his five-year NFL career that Allen had multiple drops in a game.
Casey Hayward dropped an interception that he could have returned for a score in the first half.
And Joey Bosa jumped offside and stopped playing, resulting in a free play and a 5-yard TD pass to Bennie Fowler III from Trevor Siemian that gave the Broncos an early 7-0 lead.
Anthony Lynn became the first Chargers head coach to not win his debut since Marty Schottenheimer in 2002. Norv Turner and Mike McCoy both won their first games as head coach of the Chargers.
Speaking of McCoy, now the offensive coordinator for the Broncos, the former Chargers head coach had to be smiling after this one, as Denver appeared to be in the Bolts’ huddle at times.
However, the Chargers made things interesting late.
Down 24-7 heading into the fourth quarter, the Chargers used back-to-back turnovers to work their way back into the game.
Rookie Desmond King’s deflection on a pass to Fowler was picked off by safety Adrian Phillips.
The Chargers took over at Denver’s 43-yard line and six plays later, Rivers found Allen for a 5-yard touchdown, cutting Denver’s lead to 24-14.
The Chargers then forced a second straight turnover when linebacker Korey Toomer stripped the ball from Jamaal Charles, with Hayward scooping it up and returning it 11 yards.
The Chargers took over at Denver’s 38-yard line. All it took was one play this time, a 38-yard bomb from Rivers to Travis Benjamin, and the Chargers trailed just 24-21 with seven minutes left.
With two minutes left, Rivers marched the Chargers into field goal position with the hopes of overtime.
Undrafted rookie Younghoe Koo made the first kick, but the Broncos called timeout before the snap.
On Koo’s second try with five seconds left in the game, his 44-yard attempt was blocked by Shelby Harris, helping the Broncos escape with a win.
Although the Chargers now sit at 0-1, they play their next three games at home at the StubHub Center, beginning on Sunday.
Rivers finished 22-of-33 for 192 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Melvin Gordon totaled 54 rushing yards and Tyrell Williams led the Chargers with seven receptions for 54 yards.
