Russell Wilson threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns Sunday and the Denver Broncos’ suddenly ferocious defense knocked out Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert 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 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 on a clinching touchdown drive. Wilson capped it with a 10-yard scoring pass to Adam Trautman.
Herbert was 9-of-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.
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 his territory.
After Cooper returned it 4 yards to the 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, enabling the Broncos to head into the break with a 10-0 advantage.
–Field Level Media