Broncos’ four-game winning streak snapped, postseason aspirations delayed in penalty-marred, 34-27 loss to Chargers

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Sean Payton never felt settled during the Broncos’ recent bye week.

He said he never fully does. A few days with the prospect of more work ahead isn’t long enough to truly decompress. And the task is even tougher when you’re trying to end an eight-year playoff drought.

As the Broncos returned to action ahead of a game against Indianapolis, he called out one area that he was particularly concerned about.

“Our penalty numbers are still problematic,” he said on Dec. 9. “I don’t like our penalties relative to the offensive line. We’re near the bottom of the league in that category. We’re in the bottom of the league relative to the secondary.

“Those have to get cleaned up or they’ll end up costing you.”

That costly moment arrived Thursday night in Los Angeles, helping to swing a dominant start for Denver to a 34-27 Chargers win.

The Broncos still need a win or a combination of losses from AFC foes over the final two weeks to make the postseason. The odds are still in their favor, but they had every chance to finish the job themselves at SoFi Stadium.

For quite a while it looked like they’d do just that after Bo Nix and company opened the game with three straight touchdown drives and built a 21-10 lead.

When the Broncos got the ball with 5 minutes left in the first half and that lead plus the prospect of starting the second half with the ball, they had full control of the game.

By the time halftime arrived, though, a critical penalty and a little-known rule started a Chargers avalanche.

The Broncos sent Riley Dixon on to punt with 8 seconds left in the first half after a late-half drive that went nowhere.

He hit a solid 46-yarder but Tremon Smith ran into Chargers return man Derius Davis, drawing a 15-yard penalty to move the ball to the Broncos’ 47-yard line.

That’s when Los Angeles took advantage of a little-used NFL rule and opted to try a fair catch free kick. It’s an option for teams after any fair catch but rarely used except for occasionally at the end of a half or game.

Cameron Dicker had time to line up the kick — the defense isn’t allowed to try to block it — and buried a 57-yarder to trim the halftime advantage to 21-13.

Denver actually mounted a 6-plus minute drive to open the third quarter and a 41-yard Wil Lutz field goal extended the lead briefly back to two scores, but by that time the Chargers had momentum.

Los Angeles star quarterback Justin Herbert led touchdown drives on each of the team’s first two second-half possessions, the second of which he finished with a ridiculous, off-balance throw to Davis up the left sideline. That plus a two-point conversion gave L.A. a 27-24 lead that it would not relinquish.

Herbert threw for 285 yards, with both of his touchdowns coming after halftime. He also made plays with his legs, including a critical 16-yard scramble on third-and-10 that got the Chargers out from their own 10-yard line and preceded a shovel pass to running back Hassan Haskins for a 34-yard touchdown that put Los Angeles ahead 34-24 with 2:27 left.

Now the playoff path gets greasy for the Broncos.

For the first part of the night they looked primed to sail to 10-5 and officially punch their ticket. Maybe run up the standings to as high as the No. 5 seed.

Instead, they still need a win — or losses from Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Miami — to break the NFL’s second-longest playoff-free streak. That won’t be easy on the road on Dec. 28 against a Bengals team that’s struggled but has elite offensive weaponry and a superstar quarterback in Joe Burrow. It certainly won’t be easy back home against Kansas City in Week 18, especially if the Chiefs need that game to hold off Buffalo for the AFC’s top seed.

The Broncos, though, have nobody to blame but themselves. They ran for 64 yards in a dominant first quarter but finished with just 110. They knew penalties had been a sore spot and yet were charged six times for 51 yards and had a couple of others declined.

The Chargers hadn’t rushed for more than 94 yards on the night but had 137 when they took the 10-point lead late.

The Broncos had given up only 91 second-half points on the season (6.5 per game) but surrendered 21 after halftime on this night.

A good, surprising start to a season or a game is one thing. The Broncos couldn’t finish Thursday night. They’ll have to prove they can at some point over the next two weeks.

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