Broncos Four Downs: Denver had playoff berth in hand, until Jim Harbaugh outfoxed Sean Payton

Initial thoughts from the Broncos’ 34-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16 at SoFi Stadium:

1. Self-inflicted wounds: As sheer pain goes, that Chiefs road game’s got a little company now. You don’t need to see the world with orange-and-blue glasses to notice that the Broncos gifted the Bolts at least nine points in the middle of the contest. You can’t do that on the road and not expect to get punished, and the presents turned what should’ve been a two-score game into a 24-19 Denver lead. The fair-catch field goal that ended the first half was curious enough. But Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad gave an L.A. drive midway through the third stanza life again when he appeared to ding a “defenseless” Justin Herbert following the QB’s third-down slide. Instead of fourth-and-6 at the Broncos 11, the soft flag on Strnad gave the Bolts a first-and-goal from the Denver 5. Gus Edwards’ TD on the next play fueled a 21-0 powder blue run that flipped the script.

2. Vanishing sacks: After a season of painting weekly masterpieces, Broncos DC Vance Joseph couldn’t draw himself a consistent path through the Chargers’ offensive line. With 3:20 left in the tilt, the Broncos, who came in averaging an NFL-best 3.5 sacks per game, had taken Justin Herbert down only twice. Worse yet, the cagey veteran seemed to find more comfort in the pocket the longer things went, despite playing with a high-tech brace on one ankle. The Bolts had given up the 10th-most sacks per game in the league (2.9) before Week 16, yet were able to somehow maximize Herbert’s one good leg to escape danger, slide away from pressure or, more often, utilize short, quick throws to stymie Denver’s rush. Drew Sanders’ A-gap sack in the fourth quarter looked mighty sweet. But man, was it rare.

3. Running to daylight: It felt like a very long time ago, by the end of the third quarter, but that Broncos start on the ground was a thing of pure beauty. Remember all the hand-wringing over Payton’s nonexistent run game in recent weeks? The Broncos came out of the gate with a point to prove, especially in the first quarter. Denver opened the tilt by piling up a playoff-worthy 64 yards over its first 10 carries and spread that love among five different ball-carriers. At the half, the Broncos had put up 89 rush yards on 13 totes — the kind of stat line that usually holds up well on the road in the postseason, assuming your defense holds up its end of the bargain. Alas, as we know, that last part fell through after halftime in all kinds of weird and painful ways.

4. Fair-catch kick weirdness: As much fun as Sean Payton was having with his call sheet in the first half, Jim Harbaugh got one back to steal the last word. An obscure rule gave the Chargers the option of kicking off or kicking a field goal as time expired at the Denver 47 because Broncos defensive back Tremon Smith was flagged for kick-catch interference at the L.A. 38. The half couldn’t end in a defensive penalty, so Harbaugh, down 21-10, elected to have Cameron Dicker attempt a 57-yard fair-catch kick out of a kickoff formation — and he nailed it, getting the hosts to within eight at the break. It was the first fair-catch kick make in the NFL since November 1976 — which was also made by a Chargers kicker — and the first make against the Broncos, who had attempted one themselves (it missed from 73 yards out) in 1980.

Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.