Broncos put forth another dismal effort in loss to Chargers

The Denver Broncos’ 2021 season continues to spin in the wrong direction following a 34-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17.

This game was never in doubt as the Chargers scored on their opening possession and never looked back. The Broncos stuck with the theme that they have for pretty much the last six seasons, in which they just can’t score points.

Sunday was no different as the Broncos scored just 13 points, only finding the end zone late in the game when the result was already decided.

The quarterback position has taken much of the blame for the Broncos’ lack of success over the last several years, but Drew Lock did what he could in this game and at the very least, he tries to give his teammates a chance to make plays.

Lock finished the game going 18-of-25 passing for 245 yards and a touchdown. Those are far from the worst numbers, especially after having to leave the game for a bit with an injury.

Brett Rypien came in for one series and threw two passes, both were incomplete.

The Chargers didn’t exactly do anything special. They had a balanced offensive attack and were able to overmatch the Broncos with their defense as the Broncos were missing key offensive pieces such as Jerry Jeudy and Tim Patrick.

But it was two special teams errors by the Broncos that may have been the two key plays in the game.

Trailing 10-0, Denver forced the Chargers to punt after a quick three-and-out. But Diontae Spencer muffed the punt and the Chargers recovered. Los Angeles capitalized on the turnover with a touchdown pass to Keenan Allen to take a 17-0 lead.

Broncos eliminated from playoff contention with the loss

Later in the game, on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Broncos had the ball on the Chargers’ 1-yard line and decided to go for it on fourth down. Melvin Gordon scored a touchdown but that was called back due to an illegal formation penalty, so the Broncos settled for a field goal to draw within 20-6. With the entire fourth quarter still to play, the Broncos were still within striking distance.

But the Chargers quickly closed that door.

Andre Roberts took the ensuing kickoff and ran it back 101 yards for a touchdown. Game. Over. Season. Over.

With the loss, the Broncos fall to 7-9 on the season and are finally officially eliminated from the playoffs.

The Broncos are going to have another long offseason in which the fanbase is going to be expecting major changes. The team has now missed the playoffs for a sixth straight season. Only the New York Jets have a longer active drought.