INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) Jim Harbaugh is blaming the winless Los Angeles Chargers\u2019 latest loss on himself.<\/p>\n
The Bolts blew a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter, when the Denver Broncos scored the final 13 points, including a tiebreaking 19-yard field goal from Wil Lutz with 5:07 remaining, in a 23-17 win Sunday.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert failed to pick up a first down on a crucial fourth-and-1 try early in the fourth, and the Broncos capitalized by tying the score at 17-all and dominating the rest of the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the wrong decision,\u201d Harbaugh said after the Chargers dropped to 0-5 for the first time since 2003. \u201cCan\u2019t think of a time where I\u2019ve ever been more mad at myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The failed fourth-down conversion sent the Chargers spiraling, with Herbert\u2019s fumble and interception leaving them one of three winless teams in the league. He tied his career record with a turnover in five consecutive games.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I saw them gap down, I felt like I should call timeout out there and punt the ball,\u201d Harbaugh said. \u201cRight now, the only thing I can think of is that I screwed that up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lutz\u2019s go-ahead kick came with 5:07 remaining, and his 36-yarder with 1:08 left extended the lead for the Broncos (3-2), who had plenty of orange-clad fans in the stands cheering their first win at SoFi Stadium since 2023.<\/p>\n
Denver earned its first division win coach Sean Payton calling the plays. He took those duties away from offensive coordinator Davis Webb earlier in the week. The Broncos won without injured cornerbacks Pat Surtain II (ankle) and Riley Moss (ribs).<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were some things that were good,\u201d Payton said, \u201cand then specifically staying on the field and just converting four or five more third downs. You know, just I\u2019ve got to be a little bit better, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denver quarterback Bo Nix called the play calling switch \u201csmooth,\u201d adding, \u201cIt was a collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Chargers came in with a decimated offensive line that featured four rookies trying to protect Herbert, who was 14 of 24 for 121 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception while getting sacked five times.<\/p>\n
The stuffed run on fourth-and-1 might have been bigger than all the sacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cGot to find a way to get a yard and I didn\u2019t do that,\u201d a curt Herbert said. \u201cIt\u2019s on me to go get a yard. I have complete faith in our guys and myself, and it\u2019s on us to go get a yard and convert.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake Slaughter, one of the four rookie linemen, said, \u201cWe\u2019re just going to keep swinging.\u201d<\/p>\n
Courtland Sutton caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Nix, tying the score at 17 midway through the fourth. The Broncos got the ball back after stopping Herbert short, and the Chargers sputtered the rest of the way.<\/p>\n
The ensuing LA drive fell apart when Herbert got sacked for an 8-yard loss at his 24-yard line by Zach Allen, who forced a fumble that was recovered by Que Robinson.<\/p>\n
After Lutz\u2019s go-ahead field goal, Herbert fumbled but recovered, then scrambled up the middle for a 12-yard gain before getting intercepted by Brandon Jones on fourth down.<\/p>\n
The Chargers took a 17-10 lead late in the third quarter on Kimani Vidal\u2019s 42-yard TD run the first play after Tuli Tuipulotu forced and recovered a fumble when Nix tried to scramble.<\/p>\n
Nix was 16 of 27 for 123 yards and a TD.<\/p>\n
The Chargers tied the game 10-all on Hayden Rucci\u2019s first career TD, a 7-yard pass from Herbert in the third. Playing his 100th career game, Herbert set up the score with a quarterback sweep. With Charlie Kolar blocking, Herbert ran 23 yards to the Denver 7 for the first down.<\/p>\n
The Broncos took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter after Kolar\u2019s first career fumble. After a face mask penalty by the Chargers, J.K. Dobbins scored a 2-yard TD – his first rushing score of the season.<\/p>\n
The Chargers cut the lead to 7-3 on Cameron Dicker\u2019s 42-yard field goal in the second quarter.<\/p>\n
Lutz\u2019s 42-yard field goal gave Denver a 10-3 lead on its next possession, when Harbaugh twice unsuccessfully challenged calls, making him 16 of 45 on challenges in his NFL career.<\/p>\n
Broncos: S Talanoa Hufanga (ankle) went out in the third quarter and did not return.<\/p>\n
Chargers: WR Tre\u2019 Harris went out in the third quarter. … LB Bud Dupree (neck) left in the second quarter and did not return.<\/p>\n
Broncos: Host Seattle on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Chargers: Visit AFC West-leading Kansas City on Sunday.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
This story correct a previous version to show the Chargers are off to their first 0-5 start since 2003, not 2023.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
See AP\u2019s full NFL coverage here<\/p>\n
\n Copyright 2026 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) Jim Harbaugh is blaming the winless Los Angeles Chargers\u2019 latest loss on himself. The Bolts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493216,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-493215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}