Broncos must overcome early red zone struggles to beat Chargers on Sunday

Good-on-good matchups make for must-see TV in the NFL.

Good-on-bad matchups often determine the outcome of games.

If the Broncos are to run their winning streak to four games Sunday by beating the Los Angeles Chargers, they’re likely going to have to notch a win or two in an area where they’ll be big underdogs: The offensive red zone.

Denver through five weeks is tied for 27th in the NFL with a 43.8% red zone touchdown rate, though they’ve been on a bit of an upswing recently. That’s perhaps not a big surprise with a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix. Life comes at you fast in pro football and even faster when the field gets compressed.

The Broncos have been perfectly average in reaching the red zone. Their 16 trips are tied for 14th and the average number of red zone appearances per team so far is 15.6.

Denver, though, has only converted seven times on those chances, hence the lowly conversion rate and ranking.

The numbers have been on the climb in recent weeks. Since starting 1 of 7 over the first two weeks — including a pair of brutal interceptions thrown by Nix — the Broncos have gone 6 of 9 over their three-game winning streak.

Continuing that momentum Sunday against the Chargers is no easy task, considering L.A. has allowed just nine red zone trips to opponents in four games this year and surrendered just three touchdowns.

“We go through the numbers and they’re near the top of the league,” head coach Sean Payton said Friday. “Now, it’s four weeks in. The one thing they’ve been really good at is they haven’t defended a lot of trips into the red zone, so there’s a start. The film this week, you’re going to the preseason, you’re going (back) because of that.

“That’s pretty impressive.”

One peculiarity for Denver is the red zone production of their running back tandem. Javonte Williams has surged overall the past two weeks but he does not have a touchdown yet on the year. He’s a powerful runner and he’s 221 pounds, but he’s not been a particularly good goal-line back throughout his career.

Jaleel McLaughlin, on the other hand, is 190 pounds soaking wet. But he has generated a pair of touchdowns in the red zone early this season — one rushing, one receiving — that perhaps no other player on the roster would have been able to get across the goal line.

“He’s got good contact balance for his size,” Payton said. “… He’s got good vision and some backs are just harder to lay your pads on than others. In other words, he gets tackled but he might just get quartered. He’s got good vision, very good feet and there’s some strength in how he runs.”

Overall, Williams has nine carries for 17 yards in the red zone plus one catch for 11.

McLaughlin has four carries for 6 yards plus one catch for 4, but two of those five touches have finished in the end zone.