The San Diego Chargers held off a late rally from the Denver Broncos in their 21-13 victory at Qualcomm Stadium. It took a last play of the game pass breakup by first-year Chargers strong safety DEXTER MCCOIL, to really put this game in the books as a win for the Chargers.
The Chargers (2-4 overall, 1-2 AFC West) really needed this win as to help save their head coach MIKE MCCOY’s job, and because they were amid a three-game losing streak, which is like a death sentence in the win at all costs NFL.
McCoy has been on the hot seat since 2015 due to the Chargers’ 4-12 record that year. And this year his seat got hotter because of the Chargers 1-4 record coming into tonight’s game and the fact that they blew leads in four of their last five games.
As for McCoy’s offense, Chargers quarterback PHILIP RIVERS was so-so tonight. But he was lucky the Chargers defense was stingy and the fact that the Broncos had an off night offensively. Plus, he received help from second-year running back MELVIN GORDON. Gordon carried 27 times for 94 yards, and many times he took the Chargers offense on his back.
Rivers finished the night going 18 of 29 for 178 yards with one scoring toss. 
As for the Broncos (4-2 overall, 0-1 AFC West), they were bereft of offensive consistency for most of the night. And it was only on their second to last drive of the game where they actually showed a pulse.
Broncos quarterback TREVOR SIEMIAN (30 of 50 for 230 yards, 1 touchdown pass and no picks) was sacked twice tonight. But he was under siege from the Chargers defense all night and he should have been sacked more than twice.
The Chargers scored first when Rivers fired a laser pass to rookie tight end HUNTER HENRY (6 catches for 83 yards and 1 score), who caught the pass in the back of the end zone amid tight coverage from Denver cornerback CHRIS HARRIS. That 5-yard score gave the Chargers a 7-0 lead with eight minutes left in the first quarter.
With that touchdown catch, Henry continued his three-game streak of catching a touchdown pass in a game. That streak dates back to October 2, 2016 when San Diego lost 35-34 to the New Orleans Saints in Week 4.
Because of the Chargers’ inability to score in the red zone, kicker JOSH LAMBO came in and connected on his fourth field of the game which was from 32 yards. That field goal gave the Chargers a 19-3 lead with 3:11 left in the third quarter.
BENNIE FOWLER (3 catches for 22 yards and 1 score) was the recipient of Denver’s first scoring play after almost 53 minutes of game clock time, when he caught a Siemian pass at the back of the end zone from 5 yards out. With 8:08 left in the game the Broncos cut the Chargers lead to 21-10. That was the first touchdown catch of Fowler’s three-year career with Denver——-he was a member of their practice squad in 2014 as a rookie.
The Broncos got to within 21-13 when BRANDON MCMANUS sent a field goal 47 yards through the uprights with just 27 seconds left in the game. Then a play later, McManus’s onside kick rolled to the SD 46 yard line where rookie free agent and Broncos receiver JORDAN TAYLOR recovered the ball. But on the last play of the game, the Broncos rally was squelched when McCoil knocked down a Siemian Hail-Mary pass not too far from the end zone.
