The Los Angeles Chargers blew a chance to put distance between themselves and the playoff pack, and possibly inch closer to the Kansas City Chiefs in the division.
The Chargers bungled multiple opportunities to put down the Denver Broncos, before ultimately falling, 23-22, on a last-second field goal by Denver kicker Brandon McManus.
After the loss, L.A. receiver Keenan Allen wasn't in the mood to give the Broncos any credit for crawling their way back in the game and stealing the victory.
"No, I don't think they played well at all," via Eric Williams of ESPN.com. "We dominated the game. Turnovers, we gave them some points and that's what happened. They suck."
Turnovers certainly played a massive role in the game. Von Miller's interception of Philip Rivers completely changed the tenor of the contest.
With the Chargers up 19-7 and driving for more points, Miller read a screen pass and swiped Rivers' pass, rumbling the other way for 42 yards to set up a Denver score. The play turned a would-be blowout into a tight tilt.
L.A. later botched a late-game management that could still have put the Broncos away for good or at least made the last-minute drive much more difficult. A botched handoff led to third-and-long from around midfield at the two-minute warning. With Denver out of timeouts, instead of running 40 seconds off the clock, Rivers then tossed a wormburner at the feet of Allen, taking just two seconds.
The miscues set up Denver's dramatics.
It's easy to see Allen's side on the matter. The Chargers piled up 479 total yards of offense, including 401 passing yards from Rivers. The L.A. defense had held Case Keenum to 59 passing yards entering the fourth quarter. At one point in the game, the Chargers had 22 first downs while Denver had just nine.
