Mile High Sports

Five players who shined in Broncos loss to Chargers

Casey Light

There was plenty of nail-biting for fans of the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, but very little to cheer about. The Broncos offense, which struggled for the second week in a row, scored just 13 points – 10 of which came off Chargers turnovers. The defense again allowed lengthy drives that resulted in points in the first quarter. And a handful of players had very forgettable games, including quarterback Trevor Siemian, No. 1 wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and pretty much everyone on the offensive line. But in all the darkness of Denver’s 21-13 loss – their first divisional road loss since 2010 – there were some bright spots.

Here’s a quick look at some of the plays and players that Denver can build upon as they head into a long weekend before returning to work to prepare for the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football.

Von Miller earned another sack, putting his season total at 7.5 on the year. It wasn’t a signature Miller sack – it was a force out of bounds and came early in the game – but it did keep a streak going of seven consecutive games with a sack, a new career high.

Miller’s pass rushing ability is no secret. The man can get to quarterbacks with speed and regularity unlike perhaps anyone in the league. But on Thursday night, the two-time All-Pro showed that he’s just as dangerous against the run. Miller totaled six tackles on the night, all solo, and he was key to slowing down the speedy Melvin Gordon, who earned more than half of his yards on one run (away from Miller, of course).

Kayvon Webster missed last Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury and was questionable for Thursday night, but when he stepped foot on the field it appeared nothing was wrong. Webster was exceptional, as always, as the gunner in punt coverage and he made a key pass defense on third-and-goal in the third quarter.

On a night when the Chargers were slicing and dicing the middle of the Denver defense with crossing routes and connecting with running backs and tight ends early in the game, Aqib Talib made an open-field tackle in the second quarter that forced a San Diego three-and-out and really turned the tide for the defense. Although Denver still surrendered another three field goals, Talib’s tackle stopped the bleeding at a very necessary time.

Emmanuel Sanders again proved that he’s the go-to receiver, whoever is playing quarterback for Denver. Sanders had four receptions on six targets for 40 yards; sadly, that was the best stat line of the night for a Denver receiver. He was especially tough in the fourth quarter, sticking his nose in for tough yards while other receivers were dropping passes and fumbling the game away.

When Devontae Booker came to training camp he said he was there to take people’s jobs, not carry pads. Well, he proved himself right in the case of Ronnie Hillman. Now he’s gunning for C.J. Anderson’s job. Booker had an impressive night, averaging 9.2 yards per carry. Anderson finished with just an average of just 1.4 on 10 carries, but in fairness to Anderson he did have a 20-yard touchdown catch and run called back for holding. Still, when it came to handing off the ball, Booker was hands down the best on the field Thursday night.

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