A seemingly never-ending story for the Denver Broncos has been the struggles on the offensive line, the Achilles’ heel of an otherwise talented team. This week, the Broncos traveled to Los Angeles for a Week 1 rematch against the division rival Los Angeles Chargers and it was more of the same.
Not traveling with the team was a plethora of Broncos linemen, including starting right tackle Menelik Watson and depth “swing” tackle Donald Stephenson. The loss of both players, plus the loss of Billy Turner in last week’s loss to New York, forced the Broncos to convert guard Allen Barbre to fill in at right tackle.
Barbre, who has struggled at his natural guard position at times this season, was tasked with holding off the Chargers’ pass-rushing duo of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram. The result was as expected, with both Bosa and Engram feasting on quarterback Trevor Siemian.
Bosa seemed to torment both Barbre and starting rookie left tackle Garett Bolles all afternoon, racking up two sacks. Ingram had himself a Pro Bowl day as well, notching a sack of his own. (A personal foul negated another.) As a result, the Broncos’ offense was unable to establish any momentum with Siemian constantly under duress, falling to the Chargers 21-0.
Injuries at the tackle position put the Broncos in a poor position against the Chargers, but the pressure put on by both Bosa and Ingram was simply inexcusable. The box score might display three sacks between the two, but that number could have been much higher. Bosa in particular seemed to be in the backfield on just about every play.
Regardless of the Broncos attempts to slow Bosa and Ingram, it mattered not one bit as both were successful in shedding chip-blocks from Broncos running backs and tight ends.
Siemian, operating in a constantly collapsing pocket, finished the day with 207 yards passing, while taking a total of five sacks from the Chargers’ pass rush. Siemian was visibly shaken after a bone-rattling hit from Ingram that drew a personal foul penalty. From there, Siemian simply wasn’t right, fleeing the pocket and throwing inaccurate passes the few times he did have decent pass protection.
The offensive line has been a highly-scrutinized area for the Broncos the past two seasons, as the team has struggled to see consistent play regardless of the starting five offensive linemen. Even with a completely healthy O-line, the Broncos still do not have a unit worthy of competing in the AFC West, as Watson is so far ranked as the second-worst starting tackle in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.
Only six games into the 2017 season, Siemian has been sacked an absurd 21 times, which ranks in the bottom five in the NFL in terms of sacks allowed by an offense per game.
Thankfully for the health (and sanity) of Siemian, the Broncos won’t see Bosa and the Chargers again this season unless the two teams meet in the playoffs. Sitting at 3-3 and coming off two of the worst losses in recent Broncos history, the team’s playoff chances appear to be growing fainter and fainter as the season rolls on.
The Broncos now prepare for the second game of their three-game road trip. They next face the division-leading Kansas City Chiefs on “Monday Night Football” in Arrowhead Stadium.