The LA Chargers were exposed defensively in Week 15 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into town and scored 40 points with over 500 yards of offense. With big playoff implications in Week 16, the Denver Broncos certainly used that walloping as inspiration ahead of Thursday's game against the Bolts.
Denver picked up right where the Bucs left off, scoring a touchdown in each of the team's first two drives against the Chargers. These weren't back-breaking touchdown drives where the Broncos had to earn every yard, either. They moved up the field with relative ease.
Despite being a below-average rushing team the Broncos utilized the ground game early to move down the field. Worst of all, the Broncos revealed their game plan on national TV and it didn't do any good for the Chargers, who had little to no success in stopping the run.
Hey what do you think the Broncos plan is today? pic.twitter.com/uApsmLcOJh
— Garrett Sisti (@GarrettSisti) December 20, 2024
Chargers can't stop Broncos' game plan despite seeing it on national TV
Granted, Jim Harbaugh does not have a television on the sidelines where he can see Payton's play sheet. Nor is he able to read the play sheet from all the way across the field. But there are cameras and eyes everywhere, and someone in the Chargers' operation should see this and relay the information.
It probably wouldn't matter much. The Broncos averaged 6.6 yards per carry in the team's first two drives of the game. Denver ran the ball right down Los Angeles' throat and did so with a smile.
This raises larger concerns about the Chargers' defense moving forward. As great as the defensive numbers have looked at times this season, the fact of the matter is that the Chargers have gotten exposed in recent weeks.
The end of the first quarter marked the sixth consecutive quarter the Chargers failed to force a punt. The last punt the Chargers forced prior to the second quarter of Thursday's game was the third quarter of Week 14's loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. That's bad.
It's so bad for the Chargers that the team could not even stop a third-and-11 check-down pass in the second quarter. This defense is starting to crack and crumble in front of everyone's eyes.
So it probably doesn't matter much if Payton is broadcasting what his team is going to do on offense. The Chargers are going to let them put up points regardless.