DENVER — The Chargers’ regular-season finale on Sunday came down to want versus need. No question, the Chargers wanted to defeat the Denver Broncos and improve their seeding for their AFC wild-card game next weekend. But, realistically, they needed to rest their many bruised starters.
So, quarterback Justin Herbert didn’t play, but backup Trey Lance did. Offensive linemen Bradley Bozeman, Trey Pipkins III and Jamaree Salyer sat out as did outside linebackers Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu. Derwin James Jr. didn’t suit up and neither did fellow safety Elijah Molden.
All together, 14 Chargers regulars didn’t play Sunday.
The Chargers’ 19-3 loss to the Broncos dropped them to seventh in the seedings, and they will face the second-seeded New England Patriots next Sunday night. Although they didn’t play like a top-seeded team, the Broncos managed to clinch the No. 1 spot and a bye next week, holding off the Patriots for the top spot.
By game’s end, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said he had no regrets about resting his starters and that preparations to play the Patriots were already underway, and that’s where the team’s focus would be. There was little point, or need, in re-hashing and reviewing Sunday’s game.
“New England, New England, focus on New England,” Harbaugh said.
Four field goals and an interception returned for a touchdown were all the points the Broncos (14-3) needed to subdue the Chargers (11-6) in Denver, Coach Sean Payton’s first victory in four games over Harbaugh. Herbert led the Chargers to a 23-20 come-from-behind victory in Week 3.
Lance completed 20 of 44 passes for 136 yards with one interception in his first start since the 2024 regular-season finale while with the Dallas Cowboys. He played behind a starting offensive line made up of Austin Deculus, Branson Taylor, Andre James, Trey Penning and Bobby Hart.
“I’m thankful for the guys,” Lance said. “They had my back the whole week.”
Lance also had the back of wide receiver Keenan Allen, who had $1.25 million in incentives on the line, needing six receptions, nine receiving yards, plus two touchdown catches in the finale. Allen had a team-leading seven receptions for 36 yards, but didn’t have any touchdown receptions.
“We were going to make sure I found the way to get him those six,” Lance said.
Said a smiling Allen, who completed his 13th regular season in the NFL with 81 receptions for 777 yards and four touchdowns, “It was fun, selfishly. I’ll take that, selfishly.” Asked if he would take Lance to dinner or buy him a new car, Allen said, laughing, “We’ll talk about it.”
The Chargers’ defense was similarly made up of backups, and it kept the Broncos out of the end zone and limited quarterback Bo Nix to 14-of-23 passing for 141 yards. Nix also scrambled for a team-leading 49 yards, running from a Chargers defense that was playing without top pass rushers Mack and Tuipulotu.
Overall, the Chargers held the Broncos to 240 total net yards, well off their season average of 349.1, which was ninth-best going into the game. The Chargers forced them into six punts and impressed Mack, who praised the play of the backups and special teams players who filled in.
“It was dope,” Mack said, repeating himself a half-dozen times for emphasis. “It’s going to have a lasting effect going into the next game. What we want, what we want to be as a group, as a defense, they displayed it (Sunday). Going against the top team in the AFC, we want to keep that standard going.”
Given the right results Sunday, the Chargers could have finished fifth, sixth or seventh. A victory over the Broncos would have kept them in sixth and set up a rematch, but the loss dropped them to seventh, and a date with the upstart Patriots, who have made a post-Tom Brady resurgence.
However, Lance was shaky at the start, misfiring on six of his first seven throws.
His failed connection with rookie wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith resulted in a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown by Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian for a 10-0 lead with 3:39 left in the first quarter. Wil Lutz had given Denver a 3-0 lead with a 24-yard field goal on their first series.
The Chargers’ only points came on Cameron Dicker’s 30-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in the first half, cutting their deficit to 10-3.
“I really thought those guys, getting their opportunity, made the most of it,” Harbaugh said of prioritizing the Chargers’ health in advance of the wild-card game and primarily using their backups. “New England, that’s where the focus is, and that’s the kind of a game that will define us.
“We would have liked to have won the game (Sunday), but all focus is on the Patriots and getting ready for that game.”