INGLEWOOD — The Chargers couldn’t adequately protect quarterback Justin Herbert and suffered two critical injuries that could have derailed their quest for a third consecutive victory to start the 2025 season. Herbert managed to rally the Chargers for a 23-20 Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
First, with the Chargers trailing 20-13, Herbert led them to a tying touchdown, capping a seven-play, 76-yard drive with a scramble and a touchdown pass to a diving Keenan Allen with 2:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. Cameron Dicker’s extra point then tied the score, 20-20.
Then, after forcing the Broncos to punt, Herbert drove the Chargers to the winning score, Dicker’s 43-yard field goal as time expired. The Chargers improved their record to 3-0, the first time they started a season with a 3-0 record since 2002, when they began with a 4-0 mark.
The Chargers lost running back Najee Harris to an ankle injury with 5:02 remaining in the half. Harris went down without receiving contact on a 2nd-and-4 play from their own 48-yard line on a drive that would yield a 3-yard touchdown run by Omarion Hampton and a 10-7 lead.
Harris missed all of training camp after sustaining a superficial eye injury after a fireworks accident in his Bay Area hometown of Antioch. He was activated from the non-football injury list before the Chargers’ season-opening 27-21 victory Sept. 5 over the Kansas City Chiefs in Brazil.
He played little in victories over the Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 15, although he had 28 yards on six carries before he was injured Sunday. Hampton, the Chargers’ first-round draft pick this past April, was the team’s top rusher going into the game and was the starter again Sunday.
Injuries to key players are starting to pile up. Left tackle Rashawn Slater, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, suffered a season-ending knee injury during training camp. Outside linebacker Khalil Mack, a nine-time Pro Bowl pick, dislocated his elbow during the victory over the Raiders.
Mack was placed on injured reserve and will be sidelined for a minimum of three additional games after sitting out Sunday against the Broncos. Playing without Mack for the final three quarters against Las Vegas, the Chargers still managed to hold the Raiders to three field goals.
The Chargers also lost right guard Mekhi Becton to a concussion in the first half against the Broncos. They built a 10-0 lead on Hampton’s touchdown run and Dicker’s field goal, but a coverage breakdown led to Bo Nix’s 52-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton with 38 seconds left in the half.
Then the Chargers lost their lead in the opening moments of the third quarter, when former teammate J.K. Dobbins ran 19 yards for a touchdown on the Broncos’ opening drive and Wil Lutz kicked a 42-yard field goal after Derius Davis fumbled the kickoff after Dobbins’ TD run.
The Chargers trailed 17-13 after the third quarter after Dicker’s 24-yard field goal. The Broncos countered with Lutz’s 26-yard field goal with 12:21 left in the game for a 20-13 lead.