Game Overview ::
By mike johnson >>
- The Chargers enter Week 6 coming off their bye week and should be relatively rested and healthy, with QB Justin Herbert finally having some time to get his ankle healthier.
- Expect a low-scoring dogfight in this game as field position and time of possession become important battles both teams will focus on winning.
- Both of these teams rank in the bottom 10 of the NFL in offensive DVOA through five weeks.
- Broncos QB Bo Nix is coming off the best game of his young career and will look to continue that success against a formidable Chargers defense.
- Both teams rank in top five in PFF coverage grades and should make it very difficult for these conservative offenses to move the ball with chunk plays through the air.
How LOS ANGELES Will Try To Win ::
The Chargers have held true to their words from this offseason as a team focused on running the ball and playing defense. Jim Harbaugh has things going exactly as planned, with the Chargers ranking 31st out of 32 teams in pass rate over expectation (PROE) – currently sporting a pass rate 10.4% below what would be expected from the game situations they have been in so far this year. Interestingly, the Chargers rank 14th in PROE in the red zone, as teams appear to be selling out to stop their running game in those short areas and forcing their hands to the air.
Los Angeles is not a team that will have its approach swayed drastically by any opponent, and that will certainly be the case this week in Denver against a Broncos team that has had limited offensive success this year. J.K. Dobbins has emerged as the leader of this backfield and dominated touches in Week 4, prior to the Chargers bye. It would not be surprising, however, to see Gus Edwards or one of the younger RBs on the roster come out of the bye with a bigger role, as there is a limit on how many touches Dobbins will handle. Additionally, in games where they have higher play volume, they’ll have no choice but to get others involved. Edwards seems to have fallen out of favor and was a middling talent anyways, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see exciting rookie Kimani Vidal activated coming out of the bye week. Denver has one of the top coverage units in the NFL, led by superstar CB Patrick Surtain II, and while the Chargers may open things up a bit some weeks – this likely isn’t that week. Resurgent second year WR Quentin Johnston and rookie Ladd McConkey should be busy on shorter routes and schemed touches to try and let them make plays with the ball in their hands. While the Denver defense is very good, they gave up a couple of big plays to the Raiders in Week 5 due to missed tackles, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see one of the RBs, Johnston, or McConkey break off some chunk plays through broken tackles.
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