Give the San Diego Chargers credit; they’re not afraid to fire below the hard deck.

For the second game in a row a non-wide receiver became the primary pass-catching weapon used to defeat the Broncos, a trend that more and more teams will try to exploit when they can’t pass against Denver’s vaunted “No Fly Zone” secondary.

If the Denver Broncos are going to return to their winning ways, chief among their concerns must be to fix their pass coverage on tight ends and running backs underneath.

On Thursday night in San Diego, Philip Rivers targeted rookie Hunter Henry eight times and veteran Antonio Gates six times. Together, the two tight ends combined for eight receptions, the Chargers’ only touchdown and 37.7 percent of San Diego’s 265 yards of total offense.

Henry and Gates were especially damaging on San Diego’s first two drives, both of which resulted in points and chewed up a combined total of 17:03 in clock time. Their five receptions on those drive accounted for 68 yards, four first downs and a touchdown.

Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt followed a similar blueprint to the one Atlanta used in Week 5 to unseat the then-undefeated Broncos, utilizing crossing routes to create space on the second level and leave linebackers isolated in coverage. While the Falcons relied on their running backs, especially speedy Tevin Coleman, Whisenhunt relied on the 6-foot-5, 250 pound Henry not only to mismatch with linebackers Brandon Marshall and Todd Davis, but also against the undersized cornerback Chris Harris on the touchdown pass.

As the game wore on, Denver was able to limit San Diego to just two more drives of more than 16 yards (50 and 51 yards, each resulting in field goals) and Philip Rivers was held to just 30 yards passing in the second half, but the formula is now there for teams to exploit Denver – especially early when they have been outscored 41-13 in the first quarter this year.

Wade Phillips will likely need to experiment with some different personnel packages and rookie safety Justin Simmons needs to get back on the field as soon as possible to allow T.J. Ward to cheat up and give Marshall and Davis help. With the Chargers on the schedule again in two weeks and teams like Kansas City (twice) and New England still to come, Denver will have to find ways to bring the No Fly Zone down below the hard deck.

As always, the team at Mile High Sports was plugged in during the action. Here’s what they had to say, along with some of our favorite follows in Denver media, about Denver’s continued struggles putting linebackers in coverage…

Ken Whisenhunt went right after Denver’s weakest coverage linebacker, Todd Davis, early…

As San Diego marched the ball 75 yards for a touchdown on their first possession, their game plan looked very similar to Week 5’s loss to Atlanta…

https://twitter.com/RonnieKRadio/status/786732575142273024

Denver surrendered pass plays of 27 and 20 yards to tight end Hunter Henry on the Chargers’ first two drives…

Brandon Marshall earned Pro Football Focus’s top grade for the Broncos on the night, but his partner, Todd Davis struggled against the pass…

Davis’ struggles are perhaps highlighted by the fact that last year Denver claimed one of the best coverage LBs, Danny Trevathan…

https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/786737293600002049

Exacerbating the struggles these past two weeks is that Denver has been without standout rookie safety Justin Simmons, out with a broken hand…

Unfortunately for Wade Phillips, Davis’ backup is a player in a very similar mold…

The problem was exposed on national TV. Now it must be fixed or teams will continue to attack the weakness…