On Sunday in Denver, the Los Angeles Chargers played a game against the #1 seed in the AFC without any real intention on challenging them. Had the turnovers gone the other way, this could've been different, but now it'll simply be a game remembered for its result and nothing else.

The number one reason the Los Angeles Chargers lost this game? Well, it's probably because they started Trey Lance over Justin Herbert and sat 5-10 other important starters, as well.

But wrapped up in that reason is the Chargers turning the ball over twice and the Denver Broncos turning the ball over two times, giving the Broncos a +2 turnover differential.

The first turnover was an early interception by Trey Lance, who looked incredibly rattled to start this game even before this pass bounced off his WR's hands and turned around into a pick six for the Broncos defense.

And here's the video of Lance losing track of the pass rusher and, eventually, losing track of the ball:

Ouch.

This stat is for both teams and is meant to represent what an ugly showing it was by both offenses. Combined, the Broncos and Chargers averaged less than 3.6 yards per play over the course of this game.

The starting RB for the Chargers and Broncos averaged 3.6 and 1.9 yards per carry, respectively. Both QBs were sacked 4 times. Bo Nix had one of the worst games of his season, seemingly also playing without some of the most important players in the Broncos offense, and Trey Lance did nothing to convince the other 31 NFL teams that he might be a starter (or even a high-level backup) QB.

This game was carried by the defense on both sides, which is fun when it's a late January game in the NFL Playoffs and a little disappointing in a mostly-meaningless Week 18 game between division foes.

I know I said it a few days ago, but it's worth mentioning again how proud I am of Jim Harbaugh for being strategic in his decision to rest starters in Week 18 and essentially forfeit this game in an effort to get the better matchup against the New England Patriots next week. I'm not sure the football gods will agree with me, but I do honestly believe Jim Harbaugh threw away a really good chance at a 12-5 record to improve his team's chances at making it to the Super Bowl this year.

That's one of the big stories of the game, but it's also a big story for the Chargers season. Will the team pay off his bravery with a win in New England? Or will it will have been all for naught?