The Broncos were up 24-7 with under 11 minutes left when Denver nearly gave the game away. An interception by Trevor Siemian and a Jamaal Charles fumble on consecutive drives were quickly turned into 14 points by the Chargers. Phillip Rivers connected with Keenan Allen for a 5-yard touchdown and then threw a 50-yard strike to Travis Benjamin, less than 2 minutes apart, to narrow the Broncos lead to 3. After a missed field goal of their own, the Broncos needed a blocked kick in the closing seconds to hold on for the narrow victory over their AFC West rival. Despite the pick, Siemian led the way as he accounted for all 3 Broncos' touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing).

Entering the game, our models had the Broncos 8th in our power rankings. They were 59.7% favorites to beat the 20th-ranked Chargers.