After pulling off a blockbuster trade for star quarterback Russell Wilson, the Denver Broncos believed they were one of the Super Bowl contenders entering the 2022 NFL season. But six games into the campaign, the Broncos look even worse than they did in previous years.
The Los Angeles Chargers were the latest team to stump on the Broncos’ championship hopes by handing them a 16-19 overtime loss on Monday Night Football.
After struggling to put together some meaningful offense in the past several weeks, the Broncos actually had a great start against the Chargers. They got to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, highlighted by Wilson’s 39-yard pass to tight end Greg Dulcich.
Unfortunately for Denver, they couldn’t continue in the same rhythm moving forward. This allowed the Chargers to get back in the game and do enough to force overtime. During the extra period, both teams were without any real idea how to move the ball, and the game had tie written all over it.
The Broncos’ special teams made sure this won’t be the case by muffing a punt catch and giving the ball away at their own 28-yard-line. This set up a 39-yarder for the Chargers kicker Dustin Hopkins, who drilled the ball through the uprights to give his team the win.
The Chargers now comfortably sit in second place in AFC West with a 4-2 record. On the other hand, the Broncos suffered their third straight loss and are now sitting at 2-4 and facing long odds to make the playoffs.
“We have to answer the call,” said Wilson after the game. “Adversity is definitely challenging us right now, but the only way I know to get through it is to continue to work hard and to believe.”
