The Denver Broncos travel to Los Angeles this weekend to face the Chargers in a game that carries significant playoff implications, even being only Week 3. A win over the Broncos would give the Chargers a clear hold on first place in the AFC West and claim at least a season split with the other AFC West contender, the Chiefs.
As for the Broncos, watching 2-0 slip away on a late penalty was bad enough, but following that up with a loss to drop to 1-2 would be even worse. The pressure is on the Broncos to show that they can compete in big games with strong teams, especially after their 1-6 record in one-score games last year, and now their 1-1 start in such games this year.
If the Broncos are going to compete in the AFC this year, a statement win in Los Angeles would be a great place to start. In order to do that, though, a few different aspects of this game will need to break Denver's way.
Broncos defensive bounce-back leads best-case scenario in Week 3
Bo Nix's first start of the season was far less than ideal, but he followed it up with a strong performance in Week 2 against the Colts. Nix racked up three scores; his only interception came on a tipped ball, he rushed for 22 yards, and he went an efficient 22 for 30 while not taking a sack. Also of note, Nix seemed to have a real connection with second-year wideout Troy Franklin, who could finally be breaking out as a legitimate second weapon for Denver.
If the Broncos are going to have any movement in the AFC within the next few years, the strength of Nix as a quarterback is the most important part of the team. Turning in a strong performance against one of the league's better defenses would be a great sign for the team and would stack two consecutive strong performances against two of football's better defensive units.
Speaking of strong defenses, the Broncos' unit was moved on at will in Indianapolis. Denver gave up 29 points, only sacked Daniel Jones once, and allowed Jones and Jonathan Taylor to combine for over 480 yards. It almost felt as if the Broncos had completely lost their defensive identity and were chasing their tails the entire game.
The Broncos' defensive group is one of the best in football, but it laid an absolute egg last week. Denver needs to show that it can contain a high-powered offense, and so far, the Chargers' offense has been fairly efficient, totaling 711 yards of offense in just two games.