The Broncos and Chargers face off on Thursday Night Football this week, and you can watch the entire game online right here.
Live Twitter Thursday Night Football Stream: Broncos vs. Chargers
Previewing the game with Philip Rivers reaction GIFs.
Before the game
The path through the first five weeks of the 2016 season couldn't have been more different for the Broncos and Chargers. One team managed to win all but one of its games, despite an inexperienced quarterback, while the other has inexplicably squandered four of five games despite excellent play by its five-time Pro Bowl passer.
The early success for Denver shouldn't be too surprising after the team won a Super Bowl on the back of elite defense a year ago. In his first two starts, Trevor Siemian had just one touchdown and three interceptions, but the Broncos defense was too much for the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts. Then, Siemian busted out with a four-touchdown showing in Week 3 and started the next game on the same hot streak before suffering an injury that kept him out Week 5.
Siemian is expected to be the starter for the Broncos on Thursday now that his shoulder has had some time to heal up. So, for the most part Denver will field its full lineup on Sunday, with the exception of the sideline where Gary Kubiak will be absent.
The coach was diagnosed with a complex migraine condition after he was hospitalized following the team's Week 5 game against the Atlanta Falcons. While he's expected back soon for the Broncos, it will be special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis leading the way for the team as the head coach in Kubiak's absence.
On the opposite sideline, Chargers head coach Mike McCoy could be fighting for his job with the team. After back-to-back 9-7 seasons to begin his tenure in San Diego, the bottom fell out for the team in 2015 and the team's 1-4 start has the coach on the hot seat. Particularly frustrating has been the team's inability to finish winnable games.
The Chargers led at the two-minute warning in three of its four losses, and botched the hold on an attempt at a game-tying field goal last week. Despite the second-most points scored in the NFL and a defense that has forced at least one turnover in every week, the Chargers are already dangerously close to being too far out of the playoff hunt in a division with two 4-1 teams.
San Diego has managed to defeat Denver just once in the last 10 times the two teams met. The last victory for the Chargers over the Broncos was a Thursday night road victory in 2013.
A loss to the Broncos would all but seal San Diego's fate for the 2016 season just six weeks in and keep Denver neck and neck with the Raiders at the top of the division. But if the Chargers can pull off the win at home and beat the Broncos, it would shake up the AFC West plenty.
How to watch Denver Broncos vs. San Diego Chargers
When: 8:25 p.m. ET
Where: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA
TV: CBS, NFL Network
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, and Tracy Wolfson
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