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Kevin Patra’s takeaways:

1. Justin Herbert starts fast as Chargers outlast Broncos in Denver. After back-to-back losses, Jim Harbaugh’s club came off the bye week putting the ball in their quarterback’s hand. Herbert came out of the gate firing, getting all his targets involved, dicing up a Denver defense that came in smothering opponents. Herbert was sharp and dropped a dime on a wheel route to rookie running back Kimani Vidal for a 38-yard touchdown to go up double digits. L.A. scored on their first four possessions to open a 20-0 halftime lead. The QB generated 237 passing yards with a TD, the first time this season he’s gone over the 180-yard passing mark. Herbert was particularly good on third downs, with the Chargers converting 11 of 15 on the pivotal down through three quarters. The offense bogged down in the second half, but getting the QB in a groove early proved enough for L.A.
2. Broncos offense got it going too late. It took three full quarters for Bo Nix and crew to do pretty much anything. On their first seven possessions, Denver punted five times and turned it over twice while generating five total first downs. Entering the fourth quarter, Nix had more rushing yards (33) than passing yards (27). Denver made things interesting in the final quarter with back-to-back TD drives and a field goal to pull within a score before a failed onside kick. Early, Nix missed a bevy of throws and was never comfortable in the pocket. He did well to escape sacks and make things happen with his legs, but the Broncos offense was a disjointed mess for three quarters. Credit Nix and the Broncos for battling back late — thanks in part to a few lackadaisical plays from L.A.’s D. But you can’t go through three quarters with 88 total yards and expect to win games. 
3. Chargers’ defense swarms early. L.A.’s defensive front, even without Joey Bosa, dominated a short-handed Denver offensive line for much of the contest. The Chargers shut down the Broncos’ ground game and flew after Nix. For the game, L.A. generated 25 QB pressures, per Next Gen Stats, led by Khalil Mack‘s game-high six. Mack also added a forced fumble. When the Chargers’ defensive line can dominate, everything falls into place for coordinator Jesse Minter’s unit. Things got a little wonky late, but the early discombobulation was enough to get off the schneid. Eventually getting Bosa back on the field will make L.A.’s defense even more potent, particularly down the stretch in games when the opponents are in pass mode. 

Next Gen Stats Insight for Chargers-Broncos (via NFL Pro):  Against the Broncos man and blitz-heavy defense, Justin Herbert was most effective through the air against zone coverage, finishing 12 of 14 for 114 yards (+22.4% CPOE). The Broncos’ 52.6% man coverage rate in Week 6 was the unit’s highest mark in a game over the last three seasons. Denver lost Patrick Surtain II on the Broncos’ first defensive play due to a concussion.

NFL Research: Bo Nix was 4 for 14 for 27 pass yards, one interception and a 9.8 passer rating through three quarters, but finished with respectable numbers due to a frenzied fourth quarter. He had the second-most completions (15), pass yards (189) and pass TD (2, tied) of any player in a fourth quarter so far this season, and a 143.2 passer rating in the fourth quarter boosted his game rating to 84.9, up from that single digit figure.