San Diego Chargers vs Denver Broncos: prediction, preview, pick to win

San Diego Chargers (3-4) at Denver Broncos (5-2)

KICKOFF: Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, Sports Authority Field at Mile High. TV: CBS, Greg Gumbel, Trent Green, Jamie Erdahl.

SERIES HISTORY: 114th regular-season meeting. Broncos lead series, 62-50-1. Broncos have won five of the last six. Most historic meeting between these two teams was on Dec. 17. 1979, when the Chargers turned back the Broncos 17-7 in the final game of the regular season to prevent the Broncos from winning their third consecutive AFC West title, consigning them to a wild-card game they lost at Houston six days later.

GAMEDATE: 10/30/16

KEYS TO THE GAME: On Oct. 13, the formerly luckless Chargers beat the visiting Super Bowl champs 21-13 to stifle talk about coach Mike McCoy's job insecurity. Now the Chargers are looking for a third straight win and are the darlings of NFL talk shows that suggest the injury-battered Bolts can beat anybody in the NFL.

So this game will start a mile high and go up from there as the Broncos are out to prove they are the best in the AFC West -- all due respect to the 5-2 Raiders, whom they play the following Sunday night.

Trap game? No such thing in the AFC West, aka the NFL's best.

Just when the Broncos' offense was showing signs of blossoming, RB C.J. Anderson suffered a knee injury. Anderson underwent surgery and was placed on injured reserve so it will be up to rookie Devontae Booker and reserve Kapri Bibbs to pick up the slack. Booker has 129 yards in the last two games at 5.8 yards per carry.

The Chargers know it won't take as many points as in the previous week against NFL's highest scoring team in the Falcons. So that should make McCoy more conservative in his approach, relying on running back Melvin Gordon to collect yards and the less-risky underneath routes to tight ends Antonio Gates and rookie Hunter Henry, if Henry can go after sustaining a concussion in the last game. Philip Rivers' role will be as a game manager, instead of being the gunslinger and forcing throws that he shouldn't. That said, if the Chargers can strike quickly and build a lead, the defensive-minded Broncos would be challenged in trying to rally behind an inexperienced quarterback.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

--Broncos offensive line vs. Chargers DE Joey Bosa. In three games, Bosa has four sacks, and even though he didn't sack Trevor Siemian in the teams' Week 6 matchup, he hit the quarterback twice, and the attention he drew helped set the Chargers up for two sacks and five quarterback hits by players other than their first-round pick. Bosa's pressure worked hand-in-hand with good downfield coverage, forced Siemian to settle for checkdowns on third-and-long that stifled the Broncos' offense.

--Chargers RB Melvin Gordon vs. Denver run defense. The Chargers will ride Gordon and why not? He has an NFL-high 10 touchdowns and is proving it takes more than an arm tackle to bring him down. The Broncos have the AFC's top defense, but there are some holes in the run unit. Denver is allowing nearly 117 rushing yards a game, which is clearly a middle-of-the-road ranking. Linebacker Brandon Marshall is also nursing a sore hamstring, which could compromise him on Sunday. But keep an eye on pass-rushing stud Von Miller. He lends a hand in run support as well and he smacked Gordon seven times in the backfield nearly two weeks ago.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Broncos RB Devontae Booker. His hard running not only helped spark the offense late in the Oct. 13 loss at San Diego and again against the Texans last Monday night, but seemed to light a fire under C.J. Anderson, who immediately found a burst he had not been able to discover in the Broncos' previous three games against Cincinnati, Tampa Bay and Atlanta. With Anderson sidelined due to the knee injury he suffered Monday, Booker will be needed for extensive work.

INJURY REPORT: San Diego -- Out: LB Jeremiah Attaochu (ankle), CB Craig Mager (concussion). Doubtful: S Jahleel Addae (collarbone). Questionable: WR Travis Benjamin (knee), TE Hunter Henry (concussion), LB Denzel Perryman (shoulder, foot), WR Tyrell Williams (knee). Denver -- Out: RB C.J. Anderson (knee). Questionable: LB Brandon Marshall (hamstring), C Matt Paradis (hip), CB Aqib Talib (low back), LB DeMarcus Ware (forearm).

FAST FACTS: Chargers QB Philip Rivers passed for 371 yards last week, giving him 2018 pass yards on the season and 11 seasons with at least 2000 pass yards, tied with Dan Fouts for the most in Chargers history. ... Broncos QB Trevor Siemian threw one touchdown pass and zero interceptions last week, his fourth straight start with at least one touchdown pass and zero picks, good for a tie Andy Dalton and Tyrod Taylor for the longest active streak in the NFL).

PREDICTION: The Chargers are beginning to believe in their ample ability to win, rather than lose the close ones. The Broncos are still struggling on offense, but should give Chargers' QB Philip Rivers another hard day at the office.

OUR PICK: Chargers, 24-21.

--Frank Cooney