DENVER, COLORADO - JANUARY 04: (L-R) Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos speaks to Bo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field At Mile High on January 04, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)Photo: C. Morgan Engel / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Broncos lost the coin toss and the Chargers elected to receive the ball.
Trey Lance and the Chargers offense started the game with the ball at their own 28 yard line. Facing a 3rd and 4 from the LA 34 yard line, Lance's pass went through the hands of Keenan Allen and fell incomplete. After the punt, the Broncos started their first offensive possession from their own 13 yard line.
Broncos gained their initial first down of the drive on a 6 yard Bo Nix scramble. He would add a 22 yard run a couple plays later as Denver worked into Chargers territory. Harvey and McLaughlin combined to work the ball inside the 10 yard line of LA. Facing a 3rd and goal from the LA 3 yard line, a check down to Tyler Badie lost yards so the Broncos settled for a chip shot field goal, taking an early 3-0 lead with 5:06 remaining in the 1st quarter. The drive was 15 plays for 81 yards and took 5:06 off the clock. Broncos had 73 rushing yards on their first drive.
Chargers offense went back to work from their own 35 yard line. Facing a 3rd and 5 from their own 40 yard line, Trey Lance's pass over the middle was tipped right into the hands of Ja'Quan McMillian and he returned it 45 yards for a touchdown! Broncos extend their lead 10-0 with 3:39 remaining in the 1st quarter.
LA went back on the field starting from their own 30 yard line. Patterson gained 12 yards on the first carry of the drive, giving LA their first 1st down of the game. Facing a 3rd and 10 from their own 42 yard line, Lance's pass went well over the head of Allen who was double covered. After the touchback, the Broncos offense went back out on the field at their own 20 yard line.
After a couple of short runs by Bo Nix, the Broncos faced a 3rd and 5 while Alex Forsyth went to the medical tent with a leg injury. Nix's pass went over Sutton's head and the Broncos were forced to punt. LA would start their next drive following the punt at their own 21 yard line with 30 seconds remaining in the 1st quarter.
Jarrett Patterson gained 9 yards to give the Chargers a 3rd and 1 at the end of the 1st quarter. Trey Lance tried a QB sneak but didn't gain a yard and LA was forced to punt again. Broncos started their next drive from their 15 yard line after the fair catch by Marvin Mims, early in the 2nd quarter.
Bo Nix and the offense went back to work with intention of building on their lead. RJ Harvey was tackled for a 5 yard loss and then Broncos. Tyler Badie gained 16 yards on a screen pass to get the Broncos an initial first down on the drive but on the next play, Nix was sacked and the drive never recovered. Broncos punted it back to the Chargers who would start their next drive from their own 27 yard line with 10:24 remaining in the 1st half. Alex Forsyth returned during the drive.
Facing a 3rd and 6 from their own 31 yard line, Oronde Gadsen caught a 17 yard pass to get the Chargers to midfield. Nik Bonitto came up with a HUGE sack on the next play and the Chargers drive never recovered. They would eventually punt it back to Denver who started their next drive from their 14 yard line with 6:46 remaining in the 2nd quarter.
Garett Bolles was injured on 2nd down. Facing a 3rd and 4, Bo Nix scrambled for 11 yards to move the chains but after an illegal shift on the next play, the Broncos offense didn't gain another yard. Crawshaw's 36 yard punt would set the Chargers up at their 36 yard line with 2:56 remaining in the 1st half.
It looked like Lance was going to be sacked and instead he scrambled for an 11 yard gain to get the drive going. Facing a 3rd and 6, Keenan Allen caught a 5 yard pass. On 4th and 1, Hassan Haskins was able to gain 3 yards and gave the Chargers a new set of downs. Facing a 3rd and 3 from the Denver 33 yard line, Keenan Allen caught a 9 yard pass to get LA well within Cameron Dicker's range. Eventually, the Chargers would settle for a 30 yard field goal and pull within a score at halftime 10-3.
Broncos offense started with the ball at their own 35 yard line out of the half and even though Garett Bolles came back in on 3rd down, the pass attempt to Harvey was behind him and the Broncos quickly went 3 and out. Chargers started with the ball at their own 12 yard line early in the 3rd quarter.
Facing a 3rd and 8 from their own 14 yard line, Trey Lance's pass bounced in front of Tre Harris and the Chargers were forced to punt. Broncos offense took over at their 40 yard line.
Jaleel McLaughlin gained 8 yards on 2nd and 3 to get the Broncos into LA territory and move the chains. On the next play, Nix found a wide open Evan Engram downfield for a 37 yard reception and the Broncos were quickly goal to go. Unfortunately, the offense couldn't do much more than that and would settle for a 26 yard field goal, extending the lead 13-3 with 10:07 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
LA went back to work from their 32 yard line. They gained a 1st down on a pass that looked like an incompletion to Keenan Allen but eventually ruled he got JUST enough. Facing a 3rd and 8 from the LA 43, Justin Strnad sacked Lance for an 8 yard loss and the Chargers forced to punt. Marvin Mims had a great return for 33 yards out to the Denver 45 yard line with 6:06 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
Unfortunately, after Nix was sacked on 1st down the drive never recovered and the Broncos worked it to midfield but settled for a punt. After the touchback, LA started from their 20.
Trey Lance scrambled for the initial 1st down of the drive on a scramble on 3rd down. On 3rd and 9, Trey Lance's pass fell incomplete and the Broncos would start with the ball from their own 19 yard line after the punt with 37 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter.
Marvin Mims gained 8 yards on the 1st play of the 4th quarter but replay assist, he was short. It proved significant as RJ Harvey was tackled for a loss on the next play and the Broncos were forced to punt. Chargers went back to work at their own 24 yard line. Nik Bonitto flew around the right side to strip sack Lance and Sai'Vion Jones recovered the fumble to give the Broncos the ball at the LA 20 yard line! Broncos struggled to move the ball and would settle for a 41 yard field goal, extending the lead 16-3 with 11:45 remaining in the game.
Facing a 3rd and 12, Trey Lance scrambled for 22 yards to extend the drive. A few plays later, the Chargers were facing a 4th and 7 and Pat Surtain came up with a huge TFL on Vidal in the flat to turn the ball over on downs. Broncos offense took over and cruised into LA territory with a quick completion to McLaughlin for 17 and then 11 to Badie. Pat Bryant got the ball down to the Chargers 11 yard line. Facing a 3rd and 8 from the Chargers 9 yard line, RJ Harvey took it down to the 4 yard line. Wil Lutz converted a chip shot 26 yard field goal to extend the lead 19-3 with 2:23 remaining in the game.
The Broncos would go on to beat the Chargers 19-3 and earn the 1 seed in the AFC! Denver will be on bye next week in the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs.
Below are the postgame interviews with Bo Nix and Ja'Quan McMillian