Quinn Meinerz finishes win over Chargers without any heart issues

For Quinn Meinerz, Sunday was about more than beating the Chargers.

Denver’s right guard spoke to reporters after the 23-17 win at SoFi Stadium. He said the victory meant a lot to him personally because he made it through a full game in a building where he has had heart problems for the last three years.

The trouble started on December 10, 2023. Late in the first half of Denver’s 24-7 win over the Chargers in Inglewood, Meinerz told team trainers he had chest tightness and felt his heart racing. He was examined in the locker room and taken to a local hospital. He stayed in the Los Angeles area overnight for observation while the rest of the team flew home. Luke Wattenberg replaced him at guard. The next day, Sean Payton said Meinerz was “healthy and going to be fine.”

Meinerz said Sunday that the 2023 game wasn’t the only time. He has had to manage heart issues every time Denver has played the Chargers on the road since then.

This was also Payton’s first game calling plays since he took the job back from offensive coordinator Davis Webb. When Meinerz was asked whether he noticed a difference, he said his mind was somewhere else.

“I didn’t necessarily notice that. This was kind of a big game for me personally. I’ve had struggles the last three years in this stadium with heart stuff and whatever, so at that I didn’t really notice,” Meinerz said.

“I was just kind of focused on on my my personal self today when it came to that, and I played a full game in this in this stadium without having any heart problems.”

Asked how it felt to finally get through it, Quinn Meinerz didn’t hold back.

“It’s incredible. It’s amazing. I’m really proud of myself. I’ve done all the work that I needed to do to be ready for this. So it was a big game for me personally, and I’m glad we won.”

The game came down to the end. J.K. Dobbins opened the scoring with his first touchdown of the season. Wil Lutz hit a 34-yard field goal to give Denver a 10-7 halftime lead. The Chargers went back in front before Nix hit Courtland Sutton for a touchdown that made it 17-16. Denver’s defense then took over in the fourth quarter. It stopped the Chargers on a fourth down, recovered a Justin Herbert fumble at the Los Angeles 23 and got an interception from Brandon Jones. Lutz added field goals of 19 and 36 yards, and the second one put Denver up 23-17 with about a minute left.

Denver won without starting cornerbacks Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss, who were both inactive. The win was also a first for Payton and Nix. It’s the first time they’ve beaten Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert’s Chargers since coming to Denver.

Quinn Meinerz and the Broncos are now 3-2, and the Chargers fell to 0-5. Denver doesn’t have too long to celebrate though. The Seattle Seahawks come to Empower Field at Mile High on Thursday, October 15, for Thursday Night Football.

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