Broncos lose for second straight week on last-play field goal, falling 23-20 to Chargers

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – It appears the lectures by Professor Payton will need to continue.

Broncos coach Sean Payton talked last week about how he and his coaches needed to be “teachers” to overcome a devastating 29-28 loss at Indianapolis on a field goal on the final play of the game.

Well, it’s back to the classroom for the Broncos. For the second straight week, they lost on the last play on a field goal, this one 23-20 to the Los Angeles Chargers on Cameron Dicker’s 43-yard boot Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

“We got to learn how to win the game,’’ said Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins. “That’s it. That’s the simple aim. Nothing too crazy. … We lost two games that we should have probably won. … It’s not necessarily that the other team is beating us. It’s the fact that we’re losing the game.”

For the second straight week, the Broncos had plenty of chances to close out a game, and again they didn’t. That has left them at 1-2, two games behind the 3-0 Chargers in the AFC West.

The Broncos had leads of 17-10 in the third quarter and 20-13 in the fourth quarter. They had four possessions in the second half in which they could have gone up by two possessions with a touchdown, but each time came up short. The best chance came when they had first-and-goal at the 5 when up 17-13, but had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Wil Lutz with 12:21 left in the game that gave them a 20-13 lead.

“It comes down to efficiency on offense,’’ said tackle Mike McGlinchey. “I think we were not good for most of the day, myself included. I didn’t play good enough, and offensively we were awful on third down (2 of 13) but we were also leaving ourselves third-and-forevers as well.”

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey (15) is tackled by Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II (2) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Carrie Giordano)

The defense also faltered down the stretch in a game in which the Broncos allowed a staggering 29 first downs while having just nine. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert scrambled away from a big pass rush from Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto and threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Keenan Allen to tie the score 20-20 with 2:37 left in the game.

After the Broncos went three and out, which included quarterback Bo Nix overthrowing an open Courtland Sutton on a long pass, the Chargers took over on their 32. Herbert, who completed 28 of 47 passes for 300 yards with one touchdown and one interception, then led them on an eight-play, 43-yard drive that culminated in Dicker’s winning field goal.

“We got to find a way to finish,’’ said Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II. “Obviously, last week we could have finished better, and this week the same. We just got to find a way to pull out those close games, especially against good opponents, because that’s what it takes in this league.”

Speaking of that, Nix is now 1-8 in games decided by seven points or less in his two-year career. While last year he was a rookie and some of the close losses were understandable, that isn’t necessarily the case this season.

Nix completed 14 of 25 passes for 153 yards with one touchdown, a 52-yard strike to Sutton with 38 seconds left in the first half on fourth-and-2 when the Broncos trailed 10-0. Sutton had six receptions for 118 yards.

The Broncos also got a touchdown on their next possession, a 19-yard run by Dobbins for a 14-10 lead to open the second half. Other than that, the offense was inconsistent.

“It felt very similar (to the loss at Indianapolis),’’ Nix said. “It felt like we kept going backwards and had no explosives when we needed them. We had the ball with a chance (after the Chargers tied the score 20-20). That drive just felt like we didn’t do anything. It felt like we just kept going backwards and had long field position, long third downs, and in this league, that’s not going to cut it.”

Penalties hurt the Broncos throughout the game. They had 10 for 90 yards, which raised the ire of Payton.

“Obviously, a disappointing finish to a hard-fought game,’’ Payton said. “We had too many penalties. … It’s a tough loss. … (The penalties) need to be cleaned up fast.”

Payton’s career record against Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh dropped to 1-5, but he stressed that “we’ll see them again” in Denver in the season finale and that it’s only the “third week” of the season.

On the drive that led to Allen’s touchdown, the Broncos had perhaps their most critical penalty of the game. On third-and-10 at the Chargers 24, Herbert threw an 11-yard pass to Allen, and a personal foul on safety Talanoa Hufanga for unnecessary roughness moved the ball to the 50.

“I’ve got to be smart, understanding it’s on me,’’ Hufanga said.

Four plays later, Herbert scrambled away from a pass rush and found Allen for the touchdown in the left corner of the end zone despite good coverage by Riley Moss.

“We understand that we just have to play better and defensively end it in kind of a two-minute situation,’’ said Broncos defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers. “It’s our job to close it. We didn’t get to the quarterback then.”

The Broncos had five sacks, including two by Bonitto and one apiece by Franklin-Myers, Jonathon Cooper, and D.J. Jones. But just two came after the first quarter.

Until Nix’s touchdown strike to Sutton, the Broncos offense did little. In the first half, Dobbins, who had talked about wanting to rush for 100 yards against his former team, carried four times for minus-4 yards.

Dobbins did get going in the second half, carrying seven times for 87 yards to finish with 83 yards. With runs of 41, 6 and the 19-yard touchdown run, he had all 66 yards on Denver’s scoring drive to open the second half.

“I got to make a play and I’m going to make a play for my guys,’’ he said.

Dobbins, after the game, also made it a point to defend Nix when asked about some of his overthrown passes. Nix also missed a wide-open Marvin Mims Jr. in the second quarter on what could have been a 63-yard touchdown pass.

“He ain’t miss no throws,’’ Dobbins said. “He played a great game. We got his back. I got his back. He’s a great quarterback. …  We lost as a team. It’s not on him. I got to make more plays for him and that’s it. … We got to make a play for him even if it’s not a good-placed ball.”

But most of all Dobbins stressed the Broncos still must learn how to win. Let the lessons continue from Professor Payton.