INJURED KICKER DUSTIN Hopkins slotted an overtime field goal as the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Denver Broncos 19-16 in a gritty divisional battle on Monday.
Hopkins, who spent most of the game with his right thigh heavily strapped after hurting himself on a second quarter extra-point, made no mistake from 39 yards to seal victory at SoFi Stadium.
The win sees the Chargers improve to 4-2 while their AFC West rivals Denver drop to 2-4.
Hopkins’ overtime winner was his fourth field goal of a dour game that saw both offenses struggle to get on top.
The 32-year-old veteran drilled kicks from 37, 31 and 35 yards before nailing his winning effort.
“I was hurting pretty good,” Hopkins said afterwards, revealing that he had tweaked a hamstring with his first kick.
“It was weird. I felt good. But then that first extra point I felt a pop and it went downhill from there,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins had been presented with his shot at glory after a howler from Denver’s rookie receiver Montrell Washington, who muffed a punt to surrender possession to the Chargers in kickable range.
Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson had another disappointing outing, finishing with a meagre 188 passing yards and one touchdown.
The Chargers Justin Herbert also struggled, passing for 238 yards with no touchdowns.
The Broncos took a 10-0 first quarter lead after a 51-yard Brandon McManus field goal was followed by a 39-yard Wilson pass to Greg Dulcich for a touchdown.
But the Chargers hit back at the start of the second quarter when running back Austin Ekeler powered over from six yards.
Hopkins kicked a field goal to pull the Chargers level shortly afterwards but Denver regained the lead five seconds from half-time with a second McManus three-pointer.
Hopkins’ second field goal of the night were the only points added in the third quarter as the Chargers tied it at 13-13.
McManus kicked Denver back into the lead from 48 yards but Hopkins slotted his third field goal of the night to knot the scores at 16-16 before the game went to overtime.
