Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey was not on the team’s inactive list for Sunday’s loss to the Broncos, but he never got on the field.
McConkey missed practice all last week with a foot injury and was listed as questionable on the team’s final injury report. That report was a long one and it included six players who were ruled out ahead of Sunday. The Chargers also deactivated cornerback Rodney Shelley, who joined McConkey in the questionable category and head coach Jim Harbaugh said on Monday that the team did not want the wideout on the field unless extreme circumstances demanded it.
“He was an emergency situation. We did not want to put him in,” Harbaugh said, via the team’s website.
McConkey played a limited role in Week 4 and went without a catch in the team’s loss to the Seahawks. He has 12 catches for 183 yards and a touchdown this season.
Harbaugh said it is possible that McConkey will be “working back in” for this week’s game against the Chiefs.
Chargers Clips
A month ago, Jim Harbaugh predicted Justin Herbert will retire as the greatest quarterback ever. Herbert’s play this season, though, has brought questions about the quarterback.
The Chargers coach defended Herbert on Monday after the two-time Pro Bowler went 14-of-24 for 121 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a loss to the Broncos.
“There are definitely times when he was trying to make a play, and too many times this season, there’s been that desperation time,” Harbaugh said, via Noah Furtado of TheAthletic.com. “That’s what I’d attribute that to. Doing anything and everything he can.”
Herbert has five touchdowns and seven interceptions through five games. His nine turnovers tie him with Drake Maye for the most in the league this season.
Herbert’s season high for interceptions is the 15 he threw in 2021, his second season, when he also threw 38 touchdowns.
Harbaugh said it is the team’s responsibility to put Herbert in better positions to succeed.
“I’m not going to tell him anything different,” Harbaugh said. “He’s doing anything and everything that he can to help us win, and I applaud those that do that.”
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh is prone to hyperbole.
Whether or not he was giving some of that after Sunday’s loss to the Broncos is up for interpretation. But Harbaugh did go to extremes when discussing his decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Los Angeles 41 while up 17-10 with 10:33 left in the fourth quarter.
Justin Herbert got stuffed on his run for a turnover on downs. Denver scored a touchdown to tie it, and then two field goals on their next two possessions to win it the game.
“I can’t think of a time where I’ve been more mad at myself,” Harbaugh said postgame, via Anthony Gharib of ESPN. “This team works so hard, played so valiantly. And yeah, I take 100% accountability for making that decision and turned the momentum of the game. So it was the wrong one, and I got to be right on those.”
Harbaugh added that the Chargers displayed positive characteristics, but the loss is on him for that choice.
“Really right now the only thing I can think of is I screwed that up, that’s really the only thing going through my mind,” Harbaugh said. “Because the playmaking, the stops, the momentum was in our favor. And yeah, wrong decision. Both of them. When they don’t work, that’s my accountability.”
The Chargers will go to Kansas City next week, looking to avoid a 0-6 start before their Week 7 bye.
Harbaugh is searching for answers.
“Yeah, I don’t know what that message is,” Harbaugh said. “The players just fight their hearts out, play, give it everything they have. That’s the only way, that’s the best way.”
The Broncos still have plenty of work to do on the offensive side of the ball, but they’ll get a chance to do it coming off of a win.
Head coach Sean Payton’s decision to take back offensive playcalling responsibilities didn’t lead to a clear improvement over previous weeks, but the unit was able to do enough to take advantage of Chargers mistakes in the fourth quarter to pull out a win. The 23-17 win moves them to 3-2 on the season and it leaves the Chargers to wait at least another week for their first win.
The Chargers scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to jump into a 17-10 lead and they had a chance to pin the Broncos deep in their own territory with a punt with around 10 minutes left to play. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 41-yard-line, however, and Justin Herbert was stuffed way short on a sneak.
Bo Nix threw a touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton on the ensuing drive and Broncos defensive lineman D.J. Jones forced a Herbert fumble on the ensuing drive. The Broncos opted to kick a field goal after their drive stalled on the 1-yard-line and then added another after safety Brandon Jones picked Herbert off on the next Chargers possession.
Herbert now has nine turnovers on the season and the Chargers helped set up the first Broncos touchdown of the day with another turnover, so it was another chapter in the nightmare that has been unfolding for the team since Week 1. They’ll be in Kansas City next Sunday to face a well-rested Chiefs team that’s looking to move to 5-0.
The Broncos only had 95 yards of offense in the second half, they went 1-of-12 on third downs and they had no first downs on any of the drives that were not set up by Chargers turnovers, so Payton certainly didn’t correct all that was wrong when Davis Webb was sending in the plays. He’ll have a short week to try to make progress and a tough defense to work against in Seattle on Thursday night.
The Chargers had a choice between punting or trying to convert a fourth down in their own territory with just over 10 minutes to play in Sunday’s game against the Broncos and head coach Jim Harbaugh opted to go for it.
A sneak with quarterback Justin Herbert went nowhere and the Broncos took over at the Chargers’ 41-yard line. Bo Nix hit Courtland Sutton for a first down, picked up seven yards on a run and then hit Jaylen Waddle for another first down while being roughed by Chargers safety Tony Jefferson. Nix hit Sutton for a five-yard score a couple of plays later and it is 17-17 with under nine minutes to play in Los Angeles.
Harbaugh’s choice will be questioned either way, but it will really be in the spotlight if the Chargers fall to 0-5. The Broncos did not have a first down in the second half before the touchdown drive and punting would have forced them to drive much more of the field to draw even.
Now it’ll be up to the Chargers to make that a less pointed decision. It won’t help the Broncos that safety Talanoa Hufanga is out with an ankle injury.
The Chargers have another chance to protect a second half lead for their first win of the 2026 season.
Running back Kimani Vidal rumbled for a 42-yard touchdown one play after the Chargers’ defense forced a turnover. Los Angeles now leads the Broncos 17-10 with less than a minute left to play in the third quarter.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix scrambled out of the pocket and lost the ball while being tackled by Chargers linebacker Tuli Tuipilotu, Tuipilotu recovered the ball and Vidal broke loose one play later.
The Chargers opened the third quarter with a 10-minute drive that ended with Justin Herbert flipping a seven-yard touchdown pass to tight end Hayden Rucci. After gaining 74 yards in the first half, the Chargers are already up to 140 in the second half.
Sean Payton’s return to calling the offensive plays for the Broncos has not resulted in a major change in fortune for the unit, but they did enough to take a lead into halftime for the first time this season.
Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga stripped Chargers tight end Charlie Kolar of the ball on the first Chargers possession of the afternoon and running back J.K. Dobbins ran for a touchdown a few plays later to stake the Broncos to an early 7-0 lead. The two teams traded field goals from there and it is 10-3 Broncos at the break.
Dobbins had 10 carries for 24 yards and Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is 10-of-16 for 82 yards, but the Broncos are just 1-of-7 on third downs so far on Sunday. That’s kept them from catching fire, but their defense has done the same to the Chargers.
Los Angeles has 74 offensive yards and they’ve gone 1-of-6 on their third down opportunities. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has resisted making the kind of move that Payton made this week with offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, but there’s no sign that things are getting any better for the Chargers.
Wide receiver Ladd McConkey will be available for the Chargers as they try to avoid an 0-5 start to the season on Sunday.
McConkey was listed as questionable to play with a foot injury on Friday’s injury report, but he avoided the inactive list for the home game against the Broncos. McConkey has 12 catches for 183 yards and a touchdown so far this season,
The Chargers ruled wide receiver Quentin Johnston, right tackle Joe Alt, cornerback Donte Jackson, guard Kayode Awosika, wide receiver Brenen Thompson, and safety Derwin James out on Friday. Cornerback Rodney Shelley is the only other inactive player.
Cornerbacks Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss were ruled out after being injured in Week 4. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger, defensive lineman Jordan Jackson, defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim, offensive lineman Kage Casey, and tight end Dallen Bentley are also out.
The Chargers announced a flurry of roster moves ahead of Sunday’s game against the Broncos, including quarterback Trey Lance’s move to injured reserve.
Lance had already been ruled out for this week with a groin injury and he will miss at least four games as a result of Saturday’s move. DJ Uiagalelei will be Justin Herbert’s backup.
The Chargers also placed offensive lineman Trevor Penning on injured reserve. They put left tackle Rashawn Slate on the list Friday, which left them with three open spots on the active roster.
Fullback Scott Matlock and offensive lineman Branson Taylor will fill two of them after being activated from injured reserve. Wide receiver Theo Wease was signed off of the practice squad to fill the remaining slot.
The Chargers elevated offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill and cornerback Isas Waxter from the practice squad to round out the day’s moves. Both players will revert back after the game against Denver.
Eight years after the Bears traded for pass rusher Khalil Mack, the Bears could be doing it all over again.
Via Jonathan Jones of The Athletic (who isn’t their “insider” but who is posting a Saturday “insider” column like their former “insider” did), Mack could be making his way back to Chicago before the trade deadline.
The Chargers are 0-4 and fading fast. The Bears are 3-1 and could use a boost on the edge.
Mack has a base salary of $8 million in 2026, the last year of his current deal. He’ll have $5.77 million remaining in pay after this week. The Bears, as Jones notes, currently have approximately $9 million in cap space.
Mack, 35, still has gas in the tank. He has three sacks in four games this year, for a team that has yet to enjoy having a late lead that is conducive to the proverbial pinning of the ears back.
If/when the Chargers decide to start moving contracts (they’re two games from their bye week), the next question would become compensation for Mack. If he only wants to go to Chicago, that could make it hard to maximize the return.
In 2018, the Bears gave up two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and a sixth-round pick to get Mack. It would be a lot less this time around.
The trade deadline arrives the Tuesday after Week 9. Which is only 31 days away.
