The Chargers opened the season 5-1, but even as they were piling up wins they knew that they had a big obstacle standing in the way of their hopes for the season.
Two meetings with the Broncos loomed and there’s not much chance of winning the AFC West title without handling Denver at least once. The Chargers couldn’t get the job done on Thursday night, losing 35-21, but wide receiver Eddie Royal says the loss won’t leave the team licking their wounds for too long.
“It’s not discouraging,” Royal said, via ESPN.com. “It’s motivating. We just know what we need to work on. We know how good of a team they are, and we know we can play with these guys. It just motivates us to go back and put in some work. I think we’ve got the right guys in this locker room to get ready to go and get a win.”
The schedule should be a help to the Chargers in the next few weeks. They play the Dolphins in Week Nine and then head on their bye, which means they’ll have a big window to get some players healthy ahead of the stretch run. They then have home games against the Raiders and Rams once they’re back in action, giving them a chance to get back on the winning track before they face the Ravens, Patriots and Broncos in a three-week stretch that should go a long way toward determining their playoff fate.