Broncos Country is riding high this week, and rightfully so, but that doesn’t mean they’re a finished product. They’ve won two big games in a row — with the Bears game looking even more impressive after they took down the Packers on Thanksgiving night — and Brock Osweiler hasn’t shown us anything but promise, but that’s it. And it’s really not that much.
We’ve seen big wins in Denver before. We’ve seen awards and magazine covers handed out in each of the last three seasons. What we haven’t seen is a Lombardi Trophy, and at this point, that’s all that matters.
The Broncos need to continue to improve each week, and that can only happen if you treat each opponent as if they’re the undefeated New England Patriots.
This weekend, Denver will be taking on a 3-8 San Diego Chargers team that is anything but the New England Patriots, but if they head into Sunday’s matchup with that kind of mentality, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they walk out with another loss on their record — it’s the prototypical “trap game.” Despite their record, the Chargers aren’t a team you can scoff at; they’ve got talent all across their roster.
Here are three players Gary Kubiak and his team need to make sure they have their eyes on for all 60 minutes of this Sunday’s game:
LB Melvin Ingram
The San Diego Chargers may have one of the NFL’s worst defenses, but they still have one of the league’s most explosive pass rushers.
His pure numbers (4 sacks on the season) may not describe a quarterback’s worst nightmare, but one look at his tape and you’ll understand why lineman hate lining up across from Melvin Ingram.
Melvin Ingram with the spin and sack, Jerry Attaouchu with the speed. https://t.co/reKEDX9qAM
— Doyalikedags (@doyalikedagss) August 23, 2015
Melvin Ingram explodes off line for the sack. https://t.co/nYADAOfee1
— Doyalikedags (@doyalikedagss) August 23, 2015
He’s far from a finished product, but his natural ability is undeniable. And against a battered and bruised offensive line like the Broncos’, that may be all he needs.
All it takes is one strip sack or one altered pass and a game Denver had well in hand is suddenly up in the air. Worse, an injured Brock Osweiler could spell doom for any chance at a playoff run.
Head coach Gary Kubiak has already admitted that he’s “concerned” about the hits Osweiler is taking, saying, “We just left the meeting. I think Brock has been sacked I want to say 11 times in his 10 quarters—maybe 10 times—so that’s way too many.”
Ingram won’t make protecting the quarterback much easier.
TE Antonio Gates
I don’t care if Antonio Gates is 49 years old; until the day he retires, No. 85 will scare the crap out of me every time he lines up against the Denver Broncos.
After all these years, I’m almost positive that he and Philip Rivers have developed some sort of mind-meld. On third downs, I swear all Rivers has to do is throw it to a random spot on the field, and Gates will be there; he could be 35-yards away, but his old and creaky legs will find a way to track down the ball.
And after a few injury riddled seasons (from plantar fasciitis, no less), Gates has returned to his same dominant self over the last season-plus. He may not be the athletic freak that helped start the trend of basketball players converting into tight ends over a decade ago, but he still has the ability to win with his superior football intelligence, which is just as scary.
But what’s most worrisome about the Broncos matchup against Gates this weekend is that T.J. Ward won’t be there to slow him down. And while Ward isn’t necessarily the best coverage safety in the league (Pro Football Focus has him ranked 35th in that category), David Bruton is even worse (72nd).
For as great as this defense is, it’s one weakness is in covering the tight end — Football Outsiders has Denver ranked as the 15th best defense agains the TE — and now they’re playing shorthanded. All you have to do is look at how Tom Brady and Scott Chandler carved the Broncos up on that final drive of regulation to understand how big of an issue it could be.
Right now, with all the injuries the Chargers have sustained, Antonio Gates is their offense, and it’ll be interesting to see how Wade Phillips chooses to defend him on Sunday.
This piece brought to you in part by …
[adrotate banner=”10″]QB Philip Rivers
The Chargers may be down and out. They’re entire offensive line and receiving corps may be populating the isles of the nearest hospital. But Philip Rivers is still as dangerous as ever.
And I know Broncos fans don’t like to hear that; he’s been a pain in our butt for a long time. But it’s the truth.
Philip Rivers is a great quarterback.
Even with half his offense on injured reserve, Rivers is currently second in the league behind Tom Brady in yards and fifth in touchdowns. He’s had four 300-yard, three-touchdown performances this season, and is currently completing a league-high 68.5 percent of his passes. If he keeps up this pace, he’ll finish the season with 5,107 yards, 33 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, a remarkable year for any quarterback, let alone a quarterback who has seen his team decimated the way Rivers has.
If the Broncos give him anything, he’ll take advantage of it. And I wouldn’t count on pressure getting to him, either. Not only is Rivers used to throwing under duress, he’s lethal while doing it. According to Pro Football Focus, Rivers’ accuracy percentage while under pressure is best in the league at 76.4 percent, and it’s not very close.
Not many quarterbacks in the NFL can match Rivers’ ability to anticipate routes and throw his receivers open, and that’s exactly what you need to do when facing this Broncos secondary.
For the Broncos, the Chargers seem to be the perfect trap team, and Philip Rivers is the perfect trap quarterback. If they don’t watch out, he’ll light them up.