Broncos 17, Chargers 3
The Denver Broncos improved to 10-2 Sunday with an impressive display of defense and a quick start on offense in their 111th meeting with the San Diego Chargers. An early 14-point lead was more than the team would need to win their 15th consecutive divisional road game, the longest streak in NFL history, and remain three games ahead in the AFC West.
The Broncos began the game as they have the last two, with balanced play calling of run and pass. The Broncos scored on their opening drive and an interception for a touchdown at the end of the first quarter increased the lead to two scores. They added a field goal and gave up only three points before halftime. The Broncos defense then added two more turnovers to their season total as they brought Phillip Rivers and his Charger offense to a grinding halt.
The game was never in doubt and the team was efficient and calculating in their big win. Here’s a look at the best to come out of the big win in San Diego.
Best quote of the game
Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak on how the team overcame injuries and performed in the win:
“Well, I feel good about our depth but we’re being pushed to the limit I can tell you that. I thought we came off a really emotional, physical game last week and I thought it showed a little bit through the course of the week but we hung in there and found a way to win and that’s what a good team does.”
Chargers head coach Mike McCoy on if he was surprised by his offense’s struggles:
“Without a doubt. It’s unfortunate. Offensively the turnovers [and] the pressure on Philip [Rivers], that is something we’ve [previously] done an outstanding job of. We knew it was a good football team but we have got to do a better job there. We knew it was going to be a challenge. He [Rivers] got hit too many times and it was third and long a lot. We got negative plays there. You can’t have that. You can’t have penalties, sacks and turnovers.”
Von Miller on a confrontation with Rivers in the fourth quarter after getting pressure on him all game:
“I don’t think he was happy with the cologne I was wearing. I was wearing a lot of it and I guess he wasn’t happy with it. I was on him a lot at the end of the game so everybody doesn’t like my smell.”
Play of the game
Danny Trevathan had the play of the game early in the contest but it changed the whole dynamic moving forward. With 12 seconds to play in the first quarter Rivers dropped back and looked to his favorite target, Antonio Gates. He had just crossed with his fellow tight end Ladarius Green about seven yards past the line of scrimmage on the left side of the field. Trevathan read the play and reacted.
“They had the play pretty well covered. It was kind of a hit [Antonio] Gates or nobody. I was trying to get it out in front of Gates,” Rivers said of the play after the game. “[Danny] Trevathan fell off of Ladarius [Green.] Ladarius was trying to get a little bit of a pick for Gates. He fell off of Ladarius and picked it. Obviously the throw was not good. In hindsight you just take the sack and go to second and fifteen, or whatever it was.”
The interception was the defense’s 11th of the season and fifth touchdown. It gave the Broncos a 14-point lead and sealed the win with three quarters still to play. The defense went on to impose their will on a previously impressive Chargers offense.
MVP
Miller was a man possessed Sunday and could not be stopped by any variety of blockers. He was as quick in his last play as his first and laid some big hits on Rivers on his way to an impressive stat line.
“Yeah. I thought he was exceptional. He practiced really good this week and I told him the other day. I said, ‘Von, in my opinion when your practice is hot it tends to come over to Sunday,’” Kubiak said of his best pass-rusher. “It’s hard as a player 16 weeks in a row to be perfect at practice but I think he amped it up a little bit, was really good at practice this week and took it to the field.”
When the game was over he had two sacks, four quarterback hits, four tackles (two for a loss), one pass defended and of course, his forced fumble and recovery to start the second half. On the Chargers opening drive of the second half, running back Melvin Gordon was surrounded by defenders and Miller, much like he did versus the Oakland Raiders, simply got his hands on the football and pried it away from his opponent. It stop any progress in an attempt at a comeback for the Chargers.
Honorable mention: David Bruton Jr. got his third start of the season filling in for Ward and he did not disappoint. He led the team with 12 combined tackles and was around the ball all day. Part of his duties was to cover Antonio Gates and he did an admirable job. Gates caught six passes but for just 50 yards.
Offensive MVP
Outside of the Broncos opening drive their were not many fireworks Sunday. Their first drive went 76 yards on eight plays in just 3:45 for a touchdown. Demaryius Thomas had back-to-back catches to score his third touchdown of the season. But the soon-to-be 14-point lead turned the Broncos into a run-heavy offense for the remainder of the day and three players combined for the offensive MVP.
Ronnie Hillman, C.J. Anderson and Juwan Thompson’s tough running made it possible for the Broncos to play it safe on offense and eat up clock time in order to come out of San Diego with a win. Between the three of them they ran the ball 34 times for 125 yards (3.67 yards per carry).
Hillman got the majority of the carries due to Anderson’s ankle injury that kept him out of the second half. Hillman finished with 19 carries for 56 yards.
“We want to be a physical team. That’s the way we want to play, not to ease Brock (Osweiler) in. Just being a physical team, that’s more important than trying to get him comfortable,” Hillman said after the win.
Honorable mention: The offensive line had a decent performance, allowing only one sack and five quarterback hits. Osweiler also played within himself again and only had one big mistake, a second half interception, on his way to a 76.8 passer rating. In his post game comments he noted that he understands the advantage of having such a great defense and why it changed the game plan in the second half.
“As a quarterback and as an offense you want to score points every drive and you want to throw the ball 50 times but with the defense that we have maybe that’s not the best formula to win games as the Denver Broncos of 2015.”
Best statistics
The Broncos were missing three starters on defense. T.J. Ward, Sylvester Williams and DeMarcus Ware were out with various injuries entering the face-off with the Chargers, who have averaged 390.5 yards per game. Without those players they dominated from the start.
They held the Chargers to only 179 passing yards (129.7 below their per game average) and totaled only 272 net yards.
“I really think it’s about the guys behind the starters,” Miller said after the game. “David Bruton Jr. is playing out of his mind right now. Bradley Roby is coming out to his own too, Shaquil Barrett, Shane Ray, and Corey Nelson are all guys that have come in and made the defense what it is. I’m very proud of those guys.”
The Broncos defense forced three turnovers, scored one touchdown, sacked Rivers four times while holding the Chargers to just three points (their lowest total of the season). The most impressive statistic may be that the high-powered passing attack of San Diego had zero red zone chances the entire contest.
The Broncos offense may have struggled to score points but they went 6 of 13 on third downs (46 percent) leading to a 32:57 edge in time of possession. As a team they were only flagged for three penalties and total of 18 yards.
Email Sam at sam@milehighsports.com and follow him on Twitter @SamCowhick.