In Monday Night Football, the Denver Broncos received a key defensive play to help them hold off the Los Angeles Chargers. It not only gave Broncos fans reason to cheer, but also gave Denver's new head coach Vance Joseph a 1-0 start to the season. Trevor Siemian was able to shine as he looks to lead the Broncos towards a possible playoff run this year. Here's the latest Chargers vs. Broncos game recap with top performers, game stats, and what's up next for these two teams.

NFL game recap

The Los Angeles Chargers had a shot at tying the game with a second left on the clock.

Kicker Younghoe Koo had a 44-yard field goal go through the uprights but Joseph called a timeout to "ice the kicker." After the pause in the game, Koo went for the kick again, only this time Shelby Harris of the Denver Broncos blocked it. The game ended at 24-21 in favor of the home team.

Quarterback Trevor Siemian played well, throwing for 219 yards and two touchdowns on a 17-for-28 passing day. Siemian also had six carries on the ground for 19 yards and a TD. His touchdown passes went to Bernie Fowler III who finished the game with 21 yards on three catches. Demaryius Thomas led the receiving core with 67 yards on five receptions, while C.J. Anderson had 81 yards on the ground over 20 carries.

The Chargers' Phillip Rivers finished with a 22-for-33 game which gave him 192 yards and three touchdowns. He was also sacked once and intercepted once. Touchdown passes went to Travis Benjamin, Keenan Allen, and Melvin Gordon, who tallied just over 100 yards between them on 13 catches.

Gordon also had 18 carries for 54 yards on the ground.

For the game, Denver outdid Los Angeles on time of possession at just over 34 minutes compared to 24 minutes for the visitors. Denver also had 22 first downs while the Chargers had just 17 in the game. The Broncos offense tallied 181 yards passing and 140 on the ground, while holding the Chargers to under 70 yards rushing.

Standings & what's next

With the win, the Denver Broncos are now 1-0 overall and 1-0 at home. They'll host Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday starting at 4:25 p.m. Eastern Time. Dallas is a two-point favorite to win as of this report.

For the Los Angeles Chargers, this gives them an 0-1 start to the season as well as on the road. However, Phillip Rivers and company will try to bounce back in Week 2. They'll host the Miami Dolphins at StubHub Center this coming Sunday at 4:05 p.m. Eastern Time.
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