3 Broncos players on the hot seat entering Week 6 vs. Chargers

The Denver Broncos are riding a nice three game winning streak into their Week 6 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, their second divisional opponent in a row. The Broncos are fresh off of a 34-18 beatdown of the Las Vegas Raiders, and the game wasn't even as close as that final score indicates.

Now that the Broncos are winning and proving that they can play some good football, the pressure is really on everyone in the organization to keep that going throughout the rest of the season. But going up against the Los Angeles Chargers, there are a few players on the hot seat, in particular.

These are players who need to have a big game or potentially face the music, whether they get benched, replaced, or just heavily scrutinized. Let's look at a handful of players who will be under the microscope in Week 6.

3 Denver Broncos players on the hot seat entering Week 6

1. Matt Peart, offensive tackle

Matt Peart has come in for the Denver Broncos and done a pretty solid job thus far despite having a rough go of things in the preseason. Peart was a third-round pick by the New York Giants once upon a time, and although he never worked out as a full-time starter in New York, he's got a chance to rehabilitate his value now that the Broncos are dealing with a variety of injuries at the right tackle position.

Peart has played both the right and left side already this year for the Broncos but with both Mike McGlinchey and Alex Palczewski sidelined, he's in line to start as the bookend to Garett Bolles at right tackle against the Chargers. And the Chargers have no shortage of guys who can get after the QB.

Peart is going to have his hands full, and he needs to be on top of his game. If he's not, the Broncos just added veteran Cam Fleming to the practice squad as some additional insurance.

2. Alex Forsyth, center

Similar to the situation facing offensive tackle Matt Peart, we have Alex Forsyth coming in to replace the injured Luke Wattenberg this week, at least potentially. It's not certain that Wattenberg won't play against the Chargers, but with the Broncos bringing in another center to the practice squad, it seems like there's a decent chance Forsyth is going to get the nod.

And Forsyth has a big responsibility here. The Broncos had Forsyth in competition for their starting center gig throughout the offseason, although it felt as though Luke Wattenberg had won the job rather early on. Still, the team is and has been high on Forsyth, so this is a tremendous opportunity for him against one of the league's toughest defenses. He needs to step up.

3. PJ Locke, safety

The Denver Broncos' defense has been so good this season that you really can't find much to be critical of on that side of the ball. However, safety PJ Locke needs to step up his game going forward. I say he's on the hot seat this week for a number of reasons. Let's start with the most obvious.

Locke's total lapse on the field against the Raiders cost the team seven points as he inexplicably fell over on Brock Bowers's touchdown of 50-plus yards. I saw some saying that PJ was shoved on this play by Bowers but it wasn't much...

On the 2024 season, Locke has allowed a completion rate of nearly 78 percent on throws into his coverage. He has already been credited with allowing two touchdowns this season when he only allowed two all of last year.

The Broncos might not be in a position right now to make a change at this position, but they need Locke to play better overall, especially in coverage.