This game is quite the head-coaching matchup. The AFC West match pits Jim Harbaugh in his first season with the Los Angeles Chargers against Sean Payton, his rookie quarterback, and the Denver Broncos. This will be one of the afternoon time slot games. Kickoff will happen at 4:05 p.m. ET at Empower Field at Mile High. The game will be shown on CBS. Let’s take a look at this Chargers-Broncos preview and predictions.
The Chargers enter this game rested up and fresh off the early Week 5 bye. They opened the season 2-0 beating the Las Vegas Raiders and Carolina Panthers. Weeks 3 & 4 brought them consecutive losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and a loss by seven to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chargers are 3-point road favorites for this game in Denver.
The Broncos have had the opposite start to the season. They dropped games the first two weeks to the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers, but as Sean Green of SGPN will tell you, that’s what Sean Payton does. He starts slow and then gains momentum. That’s exactly what’s happened to the Broncos in their last three matchups. In Week 3 they pulled a massive upset over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road winning 26-7. They went north to New York and beat the Jets in Week 4 before coming home and dismantling the Las Vegas Raiders who have since benched their starting quarterback.
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Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos Preview and Predictions
Denver Broncos +3 (+110)
The bye week is the biggest advantage the Chargers have coming into this game. Outside of that, all momentum is clearly in favor of the Broncos. They started out slow but have quickly picked up steam and as Bo Nix continues to come into his own he’s looked better and better.
This is a divisional matchup in Denver where the Broncos have not only home field advantage but also the edge of elevation. Through different coaches, different quarterbacks and different situations this matchup has gone the Broncos way more often than the Chargers lately. Denver has won the last three matchups straight up and are 7-3 over the Chargers in the last 10 games. Two of those three losses were by exactly three points. Take the home dog in this one.
Javonte Williams Over 46.5 Rushing Yards (-119)
The stigma around Williams especially in the fantasy community is he’s been a huge bust. However, Williams has quietly put together a few solid games in a row for the Broncos. Tyler Badie looked to be threatening for the job, but now he’s on injured reserve and won’t be on the field. Last week Williams dashed for 61 yards on 13 attempts against the Raiders. In Week 4 he went for 77 on 16 Carrie’s against New York. Not getting behind early will continue to help this run game perform better as well.
Javonte Williams forced 13 missed tackles in Weeks 1-4 combined
He forced 9 missed tackles alone yesterday against the Raiders pic.twitter.com/sEaowM8xhU
— Jordan Lopez (@JordanTLopez) October 7, 2024
The Chargers defense has allowed the main running back to get their fair share of yards. Kareem Hunt fresh off the couch ran for a nice 69 yards against them last time out. Najee Harris ran for 70 Yards in Week 3. Even the Carolina Panthers of all teams, we’re able to run against the Chargers with Chubba Hubbard gaining 64 yards on the ground.
