The Denver Broncos marched into SoFi Stadium on Sunday and beat the Los Angeles Chargers behind an incredible defensive effort and explosive play-making ability from one of their top wide receivers. What was the story in Denver’s 24-7 win?

Denver Broncos blast Los Angeles Chargers in road win

From the onset of Sunday’s game, the Denver Broncos came to play, especially on the defensive side of the ball. In the first half alone, the Broncos defense made life difficult for Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense, forcing them to punt on four of their seven possessions, generating an interception on one of them, and forcing two turnover on down stops.

Despite the defense’s effort, the Broncos offense struggled to capitalize on all but one stop in the first half, converting Jonathon Cooper’s interception into a touchdown after Javonte Williams punched it in from three yards out.

Russell Wilson looked to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy on downfield play, but he couldn’t haul it in on second down. Wilson found Jeudy for what looked like a touchdown right before halftime, but Jeudy was unable to get a second foot down, which drew tons of criticism on social media.

The Broncos settled for a field goal to go into halftime with a 10-0 lead. With Justin Herbert leaving the game with an injury and being ruled out, Denver amped up the pressure on Easton Stick, who stepped in as relief.

One of the key turning points in this game came when Wilson uncorked a deep shot to Courtland Sutton, who hauled it in one-handed for another ridiculous circus catch touchdown that extended the Broncos lead to 17-0 in the third quarter. Sutton’s touchdown catch was his 10th of the season as he’s turned in a perennial Pro Bowl-level season.

The Broncos took their 17-0 lead into the fourth quarter and continued to ramp up the intensity on defense, forcing another fourth-down stop against the Chargers offense, contributing to Los Angeles’ 0-4 conversion rate on the afternoon.

After the Broncos ensuing offensive possession flamed out, Stick led the Chargers on a 5-play 91-yard drive that saw two explosive plays allowed through the air to rookie receiver Quentin Johnston, capped off by an Austin Ekeler rushing touchdown to trim Denver’s lead to 17-7 with 10:37 in the fourth quarter.

Needing to do something to complement the defense’s effort, the offense, and Wilson converting on four third-down plays on their ensuing drive that saw them cap things off with Adam Trautman hauling in a wide open touchdown pass to cap off a 13-play 75-yard drive that took 7:26 off the clock.

Denver’s defense wreaked havoc on Sunday. Vance Joseph dialed up the pressure at a consistent rate, generating an impressive output for the defense.

On Sunday, they generated six sacks, two turnovers, and four fourth-down stops that led to a turnover on downs.

The Broncos improved to 7-6 on the season after Sunday’s win and will now face a tough road test against the Detroit Lions this upcoming Saturday on the NFL Network.