By Daniel Popper, Nick Kosmider and Amos Morale III

The Los Angeles Chargers took another step closer to the postseason with their 34:27 win over the Denver Broncos on “Thursday Night Football.”

With the Chargers’ win and losses to the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts this weekend, Los Angeles would clinch a playoff spot in coach Jim Harbaugh’s first season with the franchise.

After giving up 40 points and 506 yards of offense in Week 15, the Chargers (9-6) were hoping for a better defensive performance. That wasn’t the case, as the Broncos scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. The Chargers didn’t get a third-down stop until 2:49 left in the second quarter.

However, thanks to a rarely used fair catch kick as time expired, Los Angeles gained some momentum early in the half.

From there, the Chargers’ defense stepped up in the second half, holding the Broncos to just three points in the final two quarters, while Justin Herbert threw both touchdown passes and Gus Edwards scored his second rushing touchdown of the game.

The momentum changes after Dicker kicks

The clear cutoff point in this Chargers win was their successful fair catch kick at the end of the first half. Herbert threw his second interception in as many games. The Broncos took over at their own 18 with 41 seconds left. The Chargers forced a stop. On the ensuing punt, Broncos cornerback Tremon Smith interfered with returnee Derius Davis’ fair catch. The 15-yard penalty moved the Chargers to the Broncos’ 47-yard line. Harbaugh took advantage of regulation to attempt a 57-yard placekick. Cameron Dicker did it with a lot of flexibility.

The impact of the momentum was clearly visible on the Chargers sideline. Several players, including Davis, stood on the field 10 yards from the sideline celebrating as Dicker jogged away. The kick revived the Chargers. And in the second half, they outscored the Broncos 21-3. The Chargers’ defense, in particular, found its form in the second half after the fair catch kick made the game a single possession. The pass rush came alive. The run defense improved. There was an energy that wasn’t there in the first half. — Daniel Popper, Chargers beat writer

Herbert is Herbert

Herbert went nuclear after the interception. He has the ability to find equipment that you can’t lose. And despite battling a left ankle sprain, Herbert rose to that level in the second half. He had three big scrambles in the second half and finished the game with a 45-yard run. On one of those scrambles, he scored a late score that kept a third-quarter touchdown drive alive. That was one of two personal fouls Herbert caused through his sheer desire to keep the games alive. The other was a horse collar early in the fourth quarter.

The decisive play of the comeback in the second half: a touchdown throw outside the pocket and off the platform to Derius Davis on the left sideline for a massive hit. The Chargers needed an answer. They got it from their leader and best player. — Poppers

Broncos can’t solve Herbert

When Drew Sanders stormed into the backfield midway through the fourth quarter and dropped Herbert for a sack, it felt like a game-changing play for Denver’s defense. This forced the Chargers, who were leading 27-24 at the time, to punt, and the Broncos began their next drive with good field position as they attempted to score a tying or go-ahead score.

But after the Broncos were forced to punt quickly, their defense couldn’t stop Herbert again. It was a major theme in the game. The Chargers’ quarterback kept throwing counters to what Denver’s top-ranked defense was throwing at him. No play was bigger than his 16-yard scramble on third-and-10 from his own 10-yard line. That third-down miss seemed to take the wind out of the Broncos’ defense. Three plays later, the Chargers were in the end zone.

Now they must find a way to slow down Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow on the road in Week 17 if they want to punch their long-awaited playoff ticket. — Nick Kosmider, Broncos beat writer

The Broncos face penalties if they lose

Sean Payton sounded the penalty alarm as his team returned from the bye week earlier this month. The Broncos were mid-table in overall infractions, but the coach had identified a “problematic” trend of increasing penalties that needed to be reversed when critical games came up late in the season.

His concerns were confirmed by Thursday’s defeat. Two critical flags led directly to six Chargers points. The Broncos kicked a field goal on their first possession to extend the lead again to 11 points, but the special teams fumble – and the poor time management that preceded it – continued to haunt the Broncos.

On the Chargers’ first drive of the third quarter, Herbert scrambled for 7 yards on a third-and-13 play in the red zone. The play likely would have resulted in a short field goal attempt, but linebacker Justin Strnad was called for unnecessary roughness after hitting Herbert at the end of his slide, giving the Chargers a first down. Gus Edwards ran into the end zone on the next play, cutting Denver’s lead to 24-19.

The Chargers took the lead on their next offensive series, aided by three more Broncos penalties (two offside throws) for 20 yards. In total, the Broncos committed six penalties for 51 yards. Those aren’t absurdly large totals, but almost everyone felt like a slap in the face to the Broncos in a game that had gotten away from them.— Kosmider

The Broncos’ offense fizzled out after a quick start

The Broncos scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, a feat they had accomplished only three times in a game since 2000. The Broncos ran the ball effectively, with four players recording a physical, tone-setting drive early in the game. Bo Nix, meanwhile, threw two touchdowns in the first half and helped the team convert on its first three third-down attempts.

After that upset, however, the Broncos punted on five of their next six possessions, including three three-and-out throws that totaled 5 yards. The early promise in the running game failed and the Broncos suffered a critical deficit error that led to Bud Dupree’s drive-ruining sack in the fourth quarter. The Broncos converted just two of their nine third-down conversions, which followed a 3-of-3 start.

The quick start was an encouraging sign for a team that has struggled offensively at the start of too many games this season. But their bid to reach the playoffs – as it stands now, they need to win one of their final two games to secure a spot – will remain a tense affair unless they can get something going on offense which is closer to a four-quarter bet. — Kosmider

Required reading

(Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)