For the third year in a row, the Denver Broncos are 2-2. The Broncos have 13 regular season games left and may need to win 10 of those games to have a chance at the AFC West title this year. Fortunately, this team does have a chance to finish their unofficial six-game gauntlet with a 4-2 record as well.
A game that looked much harder before the season was the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5. The Broncos have not beaten the Chargers in Los Angeles in the Jim Harbaugh era, but four games into the 2026 season, it's quite clear that LA is legitimately among the worst teams in the sport.
In fact, the Broncos have zero excuses in Week 5, and we outlined three reasons why that is the case.
The Denver Broncos simply have no excuses against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5
The Chargers projected offensive line
The Chargers won't have Rashawn Slater or Joe Alt, their tackle duo, in Week 5. Their projected offensive line could look like this:
Guessing the Chargers OL against the Broncos this week is:
— Steven Haglund (@StevenIHaglund) October 7, 2026
LT - Branson Taylor
LG - Logan Taylor
C - Jake Slaughter
RG - Cole Strange
RT - Travis Burke
With Jacob Spomer, Alex Harkey, and Daniel Brunskill filling in as depth behind them.
Not great Bob. https://t.co/P7L5uneicj
If you haven't heard of some of those players, you might not be alone. Even if one of Slater or Alt was in for this game, the offensive line would still be a massive question mark. Oddly, the front office just did not invest nearly enough resources into the offensive line this offseason, especially along the interior.
Sure, they have dealt with injuries, but you would think that a team with deep playoff aspirations would at least work to strengthen the depth along the unit, right...?
The Chargers lost center Tyler Biadasz for the season before the year began and have had to do a ton of shuffling along this unit. Heck, if Biadasz was healthy, and both Slater and Alt were also in, this team would have a pretty solid offensive line.
But that just isn't the case for Week 5. With the Chargers trotting out what could easily be the worst offensive line any team fields this offseason, the Broncos have to win at the line of scrimmage, and that must look like not only stopping the run, but getting pressure on Justin Herbert.
Justin Herbert's struggles
Speaking of Justin Herbert, the veteran QB has put up the following production this year:
816 yards
59.7 percent completion
4 touchdowns
6 interceptions
70.6 passer rating
Herbert has thrown at least one interception in all four games this year and already has two games with multiple interceptions. He's actually on pace to throw 26 this year. The completion percentage is also below 60 percent, which is typically seen as the threshold for production at QB, and his touchdown production obviously isn't there.
While Herbert does not shoulder all of the blame, there is absolutely no denying how much he's struggled this year. Yes, his receivers aren't getting opened and he's being pressured way too much, but he's not the only QB dealing with personnel issues.
Herbert's struggles should carry over into Week 5, and, even if both Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss aren't playing, the Broncos do have enough defensive back talent to limit what the Chargers can do through the air, as they'll likely not have wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
The Chargers as a whole are just... bad
The Chargers rank 29th in points scored and 24th in points allowed. They have not scored more than 23 points all season, have not allowed fewer than 24 points, and have 38 penalties this year, which is the 5th-most in the NFL.
They're also quite banged up and will likely be missing a plethora of key starters and backups in Week 5. Outside of losing, the Chargers don't do anything well. Their two coordinator changes this year have flopped, and the roster, which wasn't that good to begin with, is falling apart.
This is a divisional game, so it could be close, but the Chargers are very simply a bad football team. While it's not been pretty for the Broncos, they're not a bad team and should be able to bully their rivals a bit.
And with Denver needing to get the offense going, playing the easiest opposing defense thus far should give this unit some 'gimme' yards and points.
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