DENVER (AP) — Ja'Quan McMillian goofed up the play in practice, got an earful from Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and then made good when given another chance Sunday when it mattered most.
The Denver Broncos secured the AFC's top playoff seed with a 19-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers' bevy of backups, a victory fueled by McMillian's 45-yard interception return for a touchdown.
“We actually ran that play in practice against that same exact (formation) and I messed it up, so we had to redo it. And VJ gave me the coaching point on it," McMillian recounted. "Then it so happened they we ran the exact same play. I was coming down on the ball to make a tackle, it was a tip, he dropped it, got a pick and just ran it in for the touchdown.”
Los Angeles had two turnovers and had two drives end with a turnover on downs, as Denver stopped the Chargers on 11 of their 12 drives.
Wil Lutz was 4-for-4 on field goals and the Broncos (14-3) tied their franchise record for most victories in a season and earned their first No. 1 playoff seed since 2015, which they parlayed into a third Super Bowl title.
“And now the season truly starts, right?" Denver cornerback Riley Moss said. "You win or you go home, and so the stakes are high and we’re going to be ready to roll in two weeks.”
That's when they host their first playoff game in a decade, which could be against these same Chargers (11-6) if L.A. beats the Patriots (14-3) at New England in the wild-card round next weekend.
“Yeah, New England. Focus on New England," Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. "That’s where our focus will be.”
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had one of his worst games of the season, throwing for just 38 yards in the first half and 141 overall, but he tied Russell Wilson's record of 24 wins in his first two NFL seasons by helping Denver grind out yet another tough win.
“We've been fortunate this year to play a lot of close games and we've won a lot of close games," Nix said. “It hasn't been the pretty ones that you want, the flashy, big-time wins, the ones you get to go there and rest a little bit in the fourth. But ... it's put us in a position to see what winning football is like."
With no chance to win the division, the Chargers treated this game much like a bye week as they prepared to hit the road for the playoffs in the wild-card round. Harbaugh sat several of his starters, most notably quarterback Justin Herbert, safety Derwin James and OLB Tuli Tuipulotu.
QB Trey Lance made his sixth career start and first with the Bolts. His fourth pass went off the hands of KeAndre Lambert-Smith and into the arms of McMillian, who raced down the Broncos' sideline for a 45-yard touchdown and a 10-0 first-quarter lead. Lambert-Smith later left the game with a hamstring injury.
After five fruitless drives, Cameron Dicker's 30-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in the second quarter pulled the Chargers to 10-3 at halftime.
The Broncos had four sacks, none bigger than Nik Bonitto's strip-sack at the Los Angeles 20-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Denver finished the season with a franchise-record and NFL-best 68 sacks, four shy of the 1984 Chicago Bears' NFL-record.
The Broncos again earned no style points, not that it mattered.
“A win is a win,” Courtland Sutton said after catching just one pass for 5 yards. "I don't care if it's 3-2. It doesn't have to be exciting. At the end of the day you have to have more points than the other team and you get the dub. I know all the fantasy people and all the gamblers they probably get upset with us ...
“Our defense was incredible. Wil will probably ice his leg later today because we wore him out. But man, a win is a win and it was exciting to share that moment with this team,” Sutton added. "There's a lot of guys on this team who have seen some darker days ... so to be able to come away with this victory was a lot of fun.”
The game was profitable for at least one Chargers player — wide receiver Keenan Allen, whose seven catches for 36 yards allowed him to reach contract incentives worth $1 million in bonuses Sunday. Allen may be buying Lance dinner — maybe even a car — for helping him reach those incentives.
“We’ll talk about it,” Allen said with a laugh.
Allen credited offensive coordinator Greg Roman, too, for calling several early screen plays to help him reach the mark. Allen needed six catches to reach 80 receptions for an extra $750,000 and 9 yards to achieve 750 yards for another bonus of $250,000. He had the yards before halftime and the catches in the third quarter.
“We set the incentives knowing we could get to them,” Allen said.
Chargers: CB Donte Jackson (ankle), Lambert-Smith (hamstring) and S Kendall Williamson (ankle) got hurt.
Broncos: S P.J. Locke (leg) was injured in the second quarter. He has been starting in place of injured S Brandon Jones.
Chargers: visit the No. 2 seed Patriots in the wild-card round.
Broncos: get next weekend off before hosting their first playoff game in 10 years.
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