The Denver Broncos have been without arguably their best player since Week 1, with Justin Simmons sidelined with a quad injury. Fortunately for them, Simmons is set to return this week against the Los Angeles Chargers, for an incredibly important game.
“It’s [a] must-win,” Simmons said of the impending Monday Night Football matchup. “That’s as urgent as it can be, you know, it’s a must-win for us on Monday night. You know, they’re already, I believe, 1-1 [in AFC West matchups], so they’ve already got a win in the division, and we need to get ours, so it’s a must-win on Sunday.”
Simmons is right.
If the Denver Broncos drop to 2-4 and continue to look anemic, their playoff hopes will be almost entirely snuffed out. Since 1990, only 9.3% of teams that opened the season 2-4 have made the playoffs, and considering this was the ‘easy‘ part of the Broncos’ schedule, they can’t afford a hyper-sluggish start in the win-loss column.
To get that crucial win, Justin Simmons is willing to put his body on the line. During his Thursday press conference, he discussed how he doesn’t think he’d pull himself out of the game in the event he re-injured his quad.
“I won’t [pull myself out],” Simmons said. “I don’t think I will. Unless I know I’m completely hurting the team where I feel like it’s going to cause a problem in terms of a big play or something like that. Everyone battles with injuries, right? That’s what happened in Seattle. I hurt it pretty early on. This is for everyone; guys are dealing with injuries week in and week out. You just learn to fight through that, and it’s that fine line of being hurt and injured, that you’re always battling with. Obviously, if I’m injured, I’m going to have to do that, but if you’re hurt, you just play through it.”
If Justin Simmons can lead the Broncos to victory, they’ll be 3-3, and in the thick of the AFC Wildcard race, with a home bout against the New York Jets up next.
