Last Sunday the
Denver Broncos beat the Indianapolis Colts to improve their record to 9-5 this
season. By no means was this a start-to-finish
blowout win. The Broncos started this
game very slowly, playing lackluster ball on offense for most of the game. During the first three quarters, Joe Lombardi’s
play-calling wasn’t that effective against a good Gus Bradley-coached Colts
defensive unit. It also didn’t help
matters that Bo Nix threw three interceptions.
Indy’s linebacker (Zaire Franklin) picked off Nix early on about halfway
through the first quarter. Then around 4
minutes before the half, Broncos starting safety Brandon Jones retaliated with an
interception of his own as Colts QB Anthony Richardson slightly overthrew his
target (Alec Pierce). This in-conference
AFC matchup was full of turnovers (8), which was the game's biggest story. The big play that had turned this game on its
head was in the third quarter when Colts running back, Jonathon Taylor eclipsed
a 41-yard touchdown run. However, after
a second look, Taylor dropped the ball before crossing the goal line. Upon Taylor dropping the ball it rolled out
of the back of the endzone thus Denver gaining possession, erasing what would
have been a 20-7 lead. Denver ended up
benefiting from a total of five turnovers, including intercepting Colt’s
receiver Adonai Mitchell on a play that Richardson initially threw a lateral
pass to the rookie wideout; upon catching the ball he looked to throw it back
to Richardson. However, Denver’s top
edge rusher and DPOTY candidate, Nick Bonitto was there to catch the pass and
brought it back for six points.
Los Angeles comes
into this AFC West showdown against their divisional rivals with a dreadful
loss. There is no other way to say it,
they straight up got man-handled on Sunday.
Jesse Minter’s defense, for the first time this year, was dismantled. The Chargers allowed over 500 yards of
offense to Baker and the Bucs, while also surrendering 40 points. It was very ugly to watch as the Chargers had
been very parsimonious in scoring defense before week 15. They are still at the top of the league in
average defensive scoring, only giving up 17.6 points (T-1st). Harbaugh and Minter are going to have a lot
to figure out, they took a beaten both in the air and on the ground. Tampa’s running back Bucky Irving averaged
7.8 yards per carry and ended the game with 117, but the strength of this
defense all year had been against the pass (allowed 283 yards to Mayfield). Meanwhile, the Chargers’ offense was also
miserable, only putting up 206 total yards.
With J.K Dobbins out, (still dealing with an injury) they couldn’t find
any room to run. Chargers only rushed
for a woeful 32 yards while also passing for just 174 yards. Greg Roman will also be back at the drawing
board to come up with a better game plan as his offense is preparing to face one
of the elite defensive units this year in the Denver Broncos.
The Chargers must be
very careful in their last three games having not yet locked up a playoff
spot. Chances are even with a loss here
they would more than likely retain the 7th seed with the three teams
looking in (Miami, Indy, Cincy- all 6-8) needing a whole lot to overtake L.A. and
slide into the super wildcard slot.
Their defense is going to have to bring a lot of pressure to rattle
Broncos’ rookie QB Bo Nix, who hasn’t played great in his last two starts but has
still come away with two wins. The
Chargers did beat them earlier in the year at Denver, though their number one
defensive player got hurt at the start of the game, never returning. That same player, Pat Surtain II did get
banged up on Sunday during a play in which he came up with an interception. Either way, the Chargers need to limit their
negative plays, try to push the ball downfield while also pass-protecting as if
their lives depend on it.
CHARGERS OFFENSE:
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 302.1 (27TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 105.8 (22ND)
PASS YARDS P/G- 211.6 (9TH)
POINTS PER GAME- 17.6 (T-1ST)
TOT SKS ALLOWED- 41 (23RD)
CHARGERS DEFENSE:
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 336.7 (14TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 125.1 (19TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 211.6 (9TH)
POINTS PER GAME- 21.0 (21ST)
TOTAL SACKS – 40 (T-6TH)
Denver
is looking to win 4 divisional games for the first time since winning the Super
Bowl back in 2015. First things first,
Payton must have his boys ready to play Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers for the second
time this season. This time they are playing
on the road where the Broncos have allowed less production out of their adversary's
offenses than at home (Denver allows 104 rush yards at home & 94 yards
away, 232 pass yards at home & 173 away).
Vance Joseph’s name surprisingly has not come up a whole lot in
discussions for a head coaching spot next season. I’m not exactly sure why, but one thing is
for certain. The Broncos will seemingly
have an elite defense for the next handful of years and Joseph is the reason why. Patrick Surtain II has been recognized as a DPOTY
nominee, while their edge rusher Nik Bonitto has also popped up as such. Bonitto is second in the league in sacks while
he has also made house calls in each of his last two games. Sean Payton could also be considered one of
the stronger COTY candidates, though in all fairness I’d like to see him win
out and win a playoff game or two before we can strongly place him at the head
of that award.
BRONCOS OFFENSE:
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 311.1 (22ND)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 108.4 (20TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 202.7 (23RD)
POINTS PER GAME- 24.0 (10TH)
TOT SKS ALLOWED- 20 (3RD)
BRONCOS DEFENSE:
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 315.3 (8TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 98.6 (5TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 216.7 (T-15TH)
POINTS PER GAME- 17.6 (T-1ST)
TOTAL SACKS – 49 (1ST)
Huge
game with even bigger playoff implications.
The chargers seem to be safe as of now.
They have two road games to end the season after tomorrow's home divisional
game on Thursday Night Football. Their next
two will be against a bad New England Patriots team, while the Chargers' last
regular season game will be another division rival, the Las Vegas Raiders.
If they want to beat a red-hot Broncos
team, they will need to be strong in passing protection against the number one
defense in sacks. They will also need to
consistently matriculate the ball downfield, winning the time of possession
battle. They will not be able to run on
this 5th-ranked rush defense, so their best shot is to have Herbert take shots
down the field. Quick passes will be beneficial
for Greg Roman to call, the longer you hold it the more sacks the Broncos will
have.
Denver
will have to limit Los Angeles in the passing game. Pat Surtain II is a little banged up after a slight
ankle sprain that he sustained on Sunday afternoon. Their other starting corner Riley Moss has
been hurt the past few games and still has not practiced as of Tuesday,
according to the Broncos injury report.
The other way for Payton to come away
with his 3rd division win on the season will be for Nix and the offense
to play turnover-free football. Denver
was pretty good at limiting offensive turnovers for much of the season, however,
this has been a problem for them in their last two games. Joe Brady should be game-planning to cook up a
unique way to hit the Chargers where they are hurting most and take advantage
of their pass defense after what the Buccaneers were able to do against them last
week. It is no secret that the Broncos
have struggled running the rock, so it makes even more sense to air it out. Javonte Williams has been vastly inefficient
this season, while the rookie runner Audric Estime seems as though he will need
some more time in this offense. Their
best running back this season, second-year player Jaleel McLaughlin (5.3 ypc)
was a limited participant in Tuesday’s walkthrough. If he is one hundred percent, I’d like Denver
to let him get the bulk of their carries as he has started to gain a lot of
traction in that backfield as their best runner.
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