A couple of former University of Oregon quarterbacks square off Sunday in a pivotal AFC West matchup. It’s Justin Herbert of the Chargers and Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos, both backed by talented defenses.
The Chargers are making their season debut at SoFi Stadium, and they already have two big pelts to hang on the wall. They’ve beaten Kansas City and Las Vegas, and against Denver are looking to sweep their first half of AFC West games. Last season, in the debut of Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton with their respective teams, the Chargers swept the Broncos.
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“Obviously, his success speaks for itself both at the NFL level and college level,” Payton told reporters this week of Harbaugh. “I was excited that he got a job in our league, but not so much in our division.”
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How the Chargers can win: Get another strong performance from Herbert. Spread the ball around to exploit soft spots in Denver’s secondary. Put the clamps on a Broncos ground game and in particular former Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins. So far, the Chargers rank eighth in run defense.
How the Broncos can win: Win on early downs so they can avoid third-and-five (or longer) situations. Establish the run to set up the play-action passing game. Finish stronger — Denver has tended to fade late in games. Make the Chargers one-dimensional; they’ve had a hard time establishing the run.
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Key injuries
Chargers: LB Daiyan Henley (illness, questionable); CB Cam Hart (hip, questionable); TE Will Dissly (knee, out); CB Elijah Molden (hamstring, out).
Broncos: LB Dre Greenlaw (quadriceps, out); TE Evan Engram (back, out); CB Patrick Surtain II (ankle, expected to play)
How to watch and listen to Chargers vs. Broncos
The Chargers and Denver Broncos will play at 1:05 p.m. Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The game will be available on CBS and Paramount+ in the Los Angeles area. It will be available nationally via a subscription to NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. In Southern California, fans can listen to the game on 640 AM or 105.5 FM (Español).
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Betting lines for Chargers vs. Broncos
Who will win Chargers vs. Broncos?
Sam Farmer’s pick: Denver has yet to put it all together, and the Chargers have done it twice, with a swarming defense and a hot-handed quarterback in Herbert. This should be close into the fourth quarter, but the Chargers will make the pivotal plays in the final four minutes to pull away. Chargers 30, Broncos 24
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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