The Los Angeles Chargers secured a 23-16 victory against the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon in Denver.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh missed the beginning of the game after he was seen entering the team’s medical tent shortly before kickoff at Empower Field at Mile High. He later returned to the locker room for an evaluation but came back to the sidelines just past the midway point of the first quarter.
Initially, the Chargers announced that Harbaugh was dealing with an illness and would be questionable to return. During his absence, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter stepped in as interim head coach. Harbaugh’s brother, John Harbaugh, who coaches the Baltimore Ravens, ended a press conference abruptly to check on his brother’s situation following his team’s win over the Washington Commanders.
Upon his return, Harbaugh witnessed quarterback Justin Herbert throw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Kimani Vidal, giving the Chargers a 10-0 lead. After the game, Harbaugh revealed that he had experienced an arrhythmia, specifically atrial flutter, which is characterized by rapid beating of the upper chambers of the heart. He mentioned that he has been experiencing this condition on and off and had it checked out by doctors before resuming his coaching duties.
“It got back into sinus rhythm, normal rhythm, so I came back,” Harbaugh said. He is scheduled to have a follow-up appointment with doctors to assess the condition further.
Harbaugh is in his first season with the Chargers after a successful tenure at Michigan, culminating in a national championship. This marks his return to the NFL after coaching the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014, where he also faced similar health issues during a game against the Chicago Bears in 2014.
The Chargers started strong, scoring 23 unanswered points, which included field goals from Cameron Dicker and a 4-yard touchdown run by J.K. Dobbins following Vidal’s touchdown. Herbert completed 21 of 34 pass attempts for 237 yards and one touchdown, while Dobbins rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. This win ended a two-game losing streak for the Chargers, improving their season record to 3-2.
In the losing effort for the Broncos, quarterback Bo Nix completed 19 of 33 passes for 216 yards, throwing two touchdowns and one interception, both of which came in the fourth quarter. Courtland Sutton made an impressive one-handed catch for a touchdown among his four receptions totaling 53 yards.
With this defeat, the Broncos fall to a 3-3 record after having won their previous three games.