The Chargers defense was once again, for the fifth consecutive game this season, the better unit compared to the offense. Linebacker Del'Shawn Phillips played his best game as a pro, nearly earning a game grade in the 90.0+ "elite" territory.
What happened to the Chargers in the fourth quarter was fairly unbelievable, but you know what may even harder to believe? Fullback Scott Matlock, fresh off of injured reserve, finished with the offense's highest individual grade.
What a world we're living in.
The defense's best player this week was an undrafted free agent who is just now becoming a starter in year eight while the offense's best player was a defensive tackle-turned-fullback who was drafted in the sixth round.
Wellcome to the Chargers experience in 2026.
Alright, let's take a look at this week's grades.
Best
FB Scott Matlock – 77.7
TE Hayden Rucci – 77.1
OT Travis Burke – 73.6
WR Tre' Harris – 69.8
TE Charlie Kolar – 66.0
Welcome back, Scott Matlock!
After returning from IR and making his season debut, Matlock turned in the Chargers' highest grade on offense. He excelled as when used as an extra pass protector (his 82.5 grade led the team) while also earning a run block grade of 70.2 (5th best). His best play of the day came on Kimani Vidal's 42-yard touchdown run where Matlock hauled himself down the field to throw a key block alongside receiver Theo Wease.
Of the four rookie offensive linemen who started Sunday's game, Burke performed the best and graded out as the offense's third best player. He unfortunately allowed a sack and ended with a porous pass block grade (39.7) but was outstanding in the run game (84.2).
Harris' injury hurt the Chargers' run game after he was forced to exit the game. Before going down, he had the team's third-best run block grade at 81.6.
Worst
QB Justin Herbert – 41.8
OG/T Logan Taylor – 44.0
TE Oronde Gadsden II – 44.7
OG Cole Strange – 50.1
C Jake Slaughter – 51.6
Taylor ended up being the worst-graded rookie offensive lineman against the Broncos. It was a shock that the Chargers put Taylor at guard when he had mainly played tackle in the preseason, on top of putting Harkey at riht tackle after he played mainly at guard in the month of August. Either way, it was a rough outing for Taylor who finished with a 31.9 in pass pro.
Many of the tight ends were used as extra pass protectors and Gadsden somehow finished with an actual 0.0 in that category.
Not a surprise that Herbert was the offense's worst. His pick was ugly and his production was one of the worst he's ever had in his career on top of yet another lost fumble.
Best
LB Del'Shawn Phillips – 89.9
EDGE Akheem Mesidor – 89.6
EDGE Bud Dupree – 85.4
LB Daiyan Henley – 75.4
S Elijah Molden – 69.9
Earlier Monday morning, Phillips had an elite 90.0 game grade. After checking back while typing this up, it changed to an 89.9. I don't know what the change came from, but Phillips deserved his first elite game at linebacker even in a loss. He had run defense and tackling grades above 80.0 and the team's second-high coverage grade at 77.3. All while playing the second most snaps among defenders.
Mesidor earned the Chargers' only sack of Bo Nix and later helped force a fumble when he hogtied Nix before Tuli Tuipulotu punched the ball loose.
Henley was in his bag as a coverage player, earning the team's highest mark at 85.1. His 79.4 in tackling was also second best.
Worst
S Genesis Smith – 35.5
LB Marlowe Wax – 36.5
DT Nick Barrett – 44.8
DT Teair Tart – 47.9
S Tony Jefferson – 49.5
It continues to be an up-and-down rookie season for Smith. Just two games after being the highest-graded player in all of Week Three, Smith ended Sunday's game with the lowest grade on the entire team. His 36.7 coverage grade was the worst on the defense by a wide margin and he was given fault for allowing Courtland Sutton to go untouched and uncovered for the Broncos' fourth-quarter touchdown.
Jefferson's 49.5 in coverage was the next worst coverage grade on the team. The roughing the passer penalty called on him (should not have been flagged) also dropped his grade a bit this week. Otherwise, Unc was fairly solid with grades above 63.0 in run defense, tackling, and pass rush.
