After falling behind early, the Broncos battled to regain the lead and their mojo on the road in the division, but came up short. (Photos by Eric Bakke unless noted)
1. Special, special teams
After falling behind early, Denver found a bright spot on special teams, much to the delight of Joe DeCamillis, Special Teams Coordinator turned interim head coach. The Broncos were down by 10 with the Chargers dominating the time of possession and forcing yet another Denver punt. However, Riley Dixon's punt grazed the leg of Chargers punt returner Travis Benjamin, and Will Parks recovered it for the Broncos. Though the offense couldn't find the end zone after this turnover, it set up a 29-yard field goal from Brandon McManus to get the Broncos within seven.
2. Book the Rook
Late in the third quarter, the Broncos were down by two scores and were struggling to get anything going offensively, especially in the run game. However, rookie Devontae Booker brought a burst of energy to the Broncos' offense, breaking free for a 17-yard gain with 3:31 left in the third. He followed with a reception for five yards and another 16-yard gain to get the Broncos near midfield.
3. Another one
After a holding call resulted in a safety for the Chargers, Riley Dixon's punt was muffed by G/T Kenny Wiggins and recovered by Shiloh Keo for the Broncos. Down 21-3, the Broncos began their drive at their own 49-yard line with 11:57 remaining in the game.
4. Fowler finds the end zone
Trevor Siemian and the offense took advantage of the Chargers' special teams' turnover by stringing together a 51-yard drive resulting in a five-yard touchdown to Bennie Fowler, his first of the season. Siemian extended the drive with a deep pass to Emmanuel Sanders for a 20-yard gain and back-to-back runs from C.J. Anderson for nine and seven yards, respectively. With 8:13 remaining in the game, the Broncos trailed 21-10.
5. Coming down to the wire
The Broncos made it interesting, recovering an onside kick after Brandon McManus nailed a 46-yard field goal to bring the Broncos within a single possession with 27 seconds remaining in the game. Though the Broncos couldn't convert the Hail Mary attempt, the recovery set up one final drive to try and tie things up.
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