The Denver Broncos rallied together on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers in their Week 18 season finale for a 31-28 win. Russell Wilson and Jerry Jeudy capitalized on explosive plays as the Broncos defense flustered the Chargers to close out the season.
Denver Broncos make things interesting at the end of the first half
For Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos, Sunday’s contest against the Los Angeles Chargers would be their final opportunity of the season to play. The 2022 campaign failed to live up to the mile-high expectations that were present with the arrival of Wilson last offseason. Interim head coach Jerry Rosburg entered Sunday with no expectations aside from wanting players to play hard for one another and every fan in attendance.
Justin Herbert and the Chargers’ starting offense took the field first, despite Los Angeles locking up the 5th seed with the Baltimore Ravens’ loss earlier on Sunday. Herbert and company orchestrated a quick scoring drive on an 8-play 75-yard scoring drive that took just 3:43. On the drive, Denver’s defense surrendered several big plays through the air to fall into a 7-0 deficit early on.
Wilson and the Broncos’ offense took the field next to try and respond and they did just that. Denver answered right back on a 12-play 73-yard drive fueled by several big plays from Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and capped off by Latavius Murray punching it in from two yards out to tie things up 7-7. In particular, Murray had four carries for 20 yards on Denver’s opening drive, while Jeudy had a 13-yard first-down run on an end-around play.
Herbert and the Chargers starters came back out for their second series of the game. Receiving the first start of his career, undrafted rookie free agent Ja’Quan McMillian came to play. On the Chargers’ second play of their possession, McMillian pursued the run and made a tackle from the backside behind the line of scrimmage. Herbert challenged him on the very next play on a downfield pass on third down with McMillian knocking the ball away from Mike Williams who usually comes down with circus-like catches week in and week out, leading to a Chargers punt.
Wilson and the Denver offense got the ball back for their second drive of the game on their own 13-yard line. The Chargers’ defense brought the heat on Wilson through the a-gap and off the edge, leading to two separate quarterback hits including one on third down, forcing Denver to go three and out.
For their third offensive drive, the Chargers starters were still in the game with the score tied at 7-7. Los Angeles started off their drive on their own 47-yard line, giving them advantageous field position. Denver’s defense couldn’t find a way to get off the field on third down as the Chargers marched downfield once again to extend their lead 14-7 after Herbert connected with tight end Gerald Everett across the middle of the field for a three-yard score. The Chargers at this point were 6 of 7 on third down.
Trailing by one score in the second quarter, the Broncos offense reverted back to their old form with pressure coming everywhere from the Chargers defense. In particular, pressure on the offensive left side forced Denver into another three-and-out situation.
Broncos cornerback K’Waun Williams was ruled out midway through the second quarter with a concussion as the Chargers’ offense took the field once again. Needing a big play, Justin Simmons stripped Austin Ekeler of the football on an inside handoff and Josey Jewell recovered it, giving Denver possession at midfield.
Denver’s offense capitalized on the spark from the defense led by Latavius Murray who scampered off a 25-yard run off the left side, set up by Jerry Jeudy blocking off the perimeter, bringing the Broncos into red zone territory. Unfortunately, Denver’s drive stalled out after Joey Bosa cut inside of offensive tackle Billy Turner, hitting Wilson as he threw to Sutton in the red zone. Brandon McManus cut the Broncos’ deficit to four points after making a field goal from 33 yards out.
With 2:43 remaining in the first half, the Broncos’ defense took the field once again to try and prevent the Chargers from scoring. Denver’s defense rallied against a screen-play by Herbert to Mike Williams, wrapping him up for a tackle, but Williams was injured on the play and had to be assisted off the field by trainers. Two plays later, Baron Browing wrapped up Herbert for the defense’s first sack of the game, leading to a 3rd and 7 which fell incomplete.
For the third consecutive drive, the Broncos offense went three and out quickly, making things easier for the Chargers to get the ball back with just over a minute left in the first half. The Chargers moved past midfield after DeShawn Williams was called for roughing the passer. The Broncos defense held firm on third and short, leading to the Chargers kicking a 48-yard field goal to extend their lead to 17-10.
With 26 seconds on the clock to start the drive, interim head coach Jerry Rosburg didn’t believe in kneeling and going into halftime. With two timeouts remaining, the Broncos marched downfield quickly with a big catch and run from Latavius Murray. On the next play, Russell Wilson rolled out to his left and launched a pass deep downfield to Jerry Jeudy who hauled it in for 57 yards bringing Denver down to the 2-yard line. Denver tied things up 17-17 on the next play with Wilson connecting with Eric Tomlinson for a two-yard score.
Denver Broncos second half
Riding the momentum of scoring a touchdown before the end of the first half, the Broncos offense exploded on their opening drive of the second half to take a 24-17 lead. Chase Edmonds sprung things open for Denver with several big runs including a 23-yard scamper opened up by Albert Okwuegbunam. Jerry Jeudy had a pivotal catch and run of 13 yards followed up by rookie running back Tyler Badie taking a Russell Wilson pass in the flats 24-yards for a touchdown.
Chargers head coach Brandon Staley elected to make the bold decision to keep their starters in the game despite having a playoff berth and the 5th seed locked up. Earlier, Mike Williams was carted off to the locker room. An interesting move by the former Broncos position coach. Herbert and the Chargers offense faced a 3rd and 11 on their own 42-yard line. Alex Singleton popped tight end Gerald Everett who dropped the pass, leading to another Chargers punt.
Russell Wilson uncorked a pass to Jerry Jeudy deep down the right side for a 50-yard gain putting Jeudy over 124 yards receiving on the day. Unfortunately for the Broncos offense, the Chargers tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage which popped up into the hands of Sebastian Joseph-Day who intercepted it for a minimal gain, gifting possession back to the Chargers. Los Angeles trimmed Denver’s lead to four points after Cameron Dicker booted in a 36-yard field goal to make things 24-20.
The Broncos offense quickly stalled out on their ensuing drive, leading to a Corliss Waitman punt that gave the Chargers offense the ball back inside the 20-yard line. Herbert and the Los Angeles offense drove downfield, converting on several third down plays. Facing a 2nd and 10, Herbert found DeAndre Carter in the hook for a scamper and run for 27 yards, but Justin Simmons pursuit from behind paid dividends as he punched the ball out, bouncing directly into the hands of Kareem Jackson and giving Denver the ball back.
On 3rd and 12, Wilson found Latavius Murray for a gain of 16-yards to give Denver momentum against Los Angeles. Three plays later facing a 3rd and 10, Wilson uncorked a pass deep downfield to Freddie Swain for a massive gain of 52 yards. With the offense cooking, Wilson found Courtland Sutton wide open in the back corner of the end zone from 20 yards out to give the Broncos a 31-20 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
Brandon Staley waived the white flag on his starters, pulling Herbert and inserting Chase Daniel. Denver made quickly forced a three and out, but undrafted rookie wide receiver Brandon Johnson who was filling in for Freddie Swain who left moments prior with an injury, muffed the punt. The Chargers took over possession on Denver’s 29-yard line.
The muffed punt proved to be costly for the Broncos with Chase Daniel connecting with Keenan Allen for a touchdown on a pick route concept. The Chargers successfully converted on their two-point attempt, cutting Denver’s lead to 31-28. With 6:02 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Broncos offense would get the chance to take over possession and run the clock out.
Trickery came back to bite the Broncos in the tail as the offense dialed up a double reverse to Jerry Jeudy who lost 15 yards on the play. Facing a 3rd and 25, Wilson connected with Jeudy for a 19-yard gain, giving Jeudy a new career-high receiving yards in a single game and career-high receiving yards in a season. Unfortunately, Denver fell short and punted it away once again.
Denver’s defense took the field looking to bounce back from their previous drive after a muffed punt. On 3rd and 14, rookie cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian came up big once again, undercutting a Chase Daniel pass attempt and intercepting it. Officials on the field ruled it as incomplete, prompting the Broncos to challenge the call. Shawn Hochuli ruled that the play stands as incomplete, despite the replay demonstrating a great case for it to be overturned.
The Chargers would be forced to punt after the review, giving the Broncos the ball back inside their own five-yard line. On Denver’s first play from scrimmage, Latavius Murray rattled off a 21-yard run up the middle to give Denver a first down to wind down the clock.
Several plays later, the Broncos offense faced a 3rd and 1 at the 2:00 warning. With two timeouts remaining, the Chargers allowed Denver to run the clock down to secure the 31-28 victory in their home finale.