The Denver Broncos fell to the LA Chargers in Week 3 of the 2025 NFL Season, and two brutal statistics tell a lot of the story. Sure, the blame can go around to Sean Payton, Bo Nix, and perhaps a shaky second half defense, but there are some statistics that tell a large chunk of the story as well.
Denver got outplayed and outcoached on Sunday afternoon and are now 1-2 for the second year in a row. In all three years of the Sean Payton era, Denver has started 0-3 once and now 1-2 two times, so the slow starts have become a bad trend.
Well, there are some shocking statistics from Week 3 that really paint a sad picture for the Broncos and their pathetic effort against the LA Chargers
First downs and third downs were huge sore spots for the Broncos in Week 3
In 60 minutes of football, the Denver Broncos gained just nine total first downs. The Los Angeles Chargers had a whopping 29 first downs. Yes, 29. Furthermore, the Broncos went just 2/13 on third down, but the Chargers were a much more efficient 8/17.
The penalties were big, but the first downs and third down efficiency easily decided this game. Denver simply was not good in the high-leverage situations on either side of the ball, and it's the same type of issues that have plagued them for a while now.
It's frustrating to say the least, and no matter how you slice it, an NFL team is not going to win many games conveting just two of their third downs and not even hitting double-digit first downs.
It's a sad reality that the Broncos have to fix before their Week 4 showdown on Monday Night Football against the Cincinnati Bengals, who are without Jake Browning.