Russell Wilson threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, and the Broncos’ suddenly ferocious defense knocked Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert out of the game in the first half of a 24-7 win in Inglewood, Calif., that kept Denver in the AFC playoff hunt.
Wilson completed 21 of 33 passes with an interception. He gave the Broncos (7-6) a 17-0 lead with 5:55 left in the third quarter when he found Courtland Sutton for a 46-yard scoring strike. Sutton caught the ball with his right arm in the back of the end zone while being interfered with by a Los Angeles defender.
After Austin Ekeler scored on a 3-yard run to pull the Chargers (5-8) within 17-7 with 10:37 remaining in the game, Denver chewed up nearly 7 1/2 minutes of clock on a game-clinching touchdown drive. Wilson capped it with a 10-yard scoring pass to Adam Trautman.
Herbert was 9-for-17 for 96 yards with an interception when he left with a finger injury in the second quarter. Backup Easton Stick completed 13 of 24 passes for 179 yards.
Herbert had been playing through a fractured finger on his non-throwing hand, but Sunday’s injury was to his right (throwing) hand. Chargers coach Brandon Staley said after the game that Herbert fractured his right index finger.
Neither Los Angeles quarterback enjoyed a lot of time to throw. The Broncos logged six sacks for 68 yards.
The same Denver defense that in Week 3 allowed 70 points at Miami completely dominated Los Angeles, beginning when Herbert was intercepted by Jonathon Cooper on a third-down throw deep in Chargers territory.
After Cooper returned it 4 yards to the Los Angeles 3, Javonte Williams cashed in on the short field with a touchdown run on the next play for a 7-0 lead at the 4:55 mark of the first quarter.
The only other scoring in the first half was the result of a well-executed two-minute drive by Wilson, who took his team 65 yards in 10 plays over just 1:23. Wil Lutz converted a 23-yard field goal with five seconds left in the second quarter, enabling the Broncos to head into the break with a 10-0 advantage.
