A Great Win was Almost a Blowout
With a 27-20 win over the San Diego Chargers in Week 17, the Denver Broncos clinched the AFC West and secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC, ensuring the road to Super Bowl 50 will go through Denver.
The win, like so many for the Broncos, was a nail-biter. For the ninth time in 12 wins, Denver walked away the victor by only a single score. The 2015 Broncos seemed always a dropped pass or a turnover (or five, in the case of the San Diego game) away from turning a tense victory into a laugher.
With the No. 1 defense in the NFL, but with an offense that struggled all season to find and keep rhythm, the Broncos were almost a dominating team. Sunday was much of the same, as they escaped the Chargers via a back-and-forth second-half that saw them ultimately pull away for a seven-point win thanks to a key takeaway by the defense in the fourth quarter.
The Broncos almost dominated the Chargers on the scoreboard in the same way they dominated the statistics thanks to some great performances and some almost great performances. We examine them in this week’s “Studs & Duds.”
Great Performance No. 3 – Demaryius Thomas
With 117 yards on five receptions, Demaryius Thomas set some records and moved into elite company on Sunday.
His 72-yard touchdown catch and run on the second play from scrimmage not only gave the Broncos an early lead, it set a franchise record for most 70-plus yard receiving touchdowns. The touchdown, his fifth, is second only to Victor Cruz since 2011.
By halftime Thomas has already amassed 101 yards, good for a new Denver Broncos record. Thomas passed Rod Smith for the most 100-yard receiving games in franchise history.
By the end of the game he had joined even more exclusive company. With 90-plus catches and 1,300-plus yards for the fourth consecutive season, he became only the third player in NFL history to accomplish such a feat, joining Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison.
Almost Great Performance No. 3 – Emmanuel Sanders
Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders set several marks in the Dec. 28 win against the Cincinnati Bengals by moving past the 1,000-yard threshold. In so doing, he reached that plateau for the second-consecuitve season and helped deliver Denver’s fourth-straight year with two receivers to reach 1,000 yards. It was the first time in franchise history that such a streak has occurred.
Sanders was just one yard away from a 100-yard game Sunday against San Diego. It would have been his fifth of the season, which would have put him one ahead of Demaryius Thomas. Instead, they ended the season tied with four.
That extra yard almost nearly came on his 46-yard reception in the first quarter. But as Sanders fought for extra yardage against Chargers cornerback Steve Williams, the ball was pried loose and San Diego had its first of five takeaways on the day.
The fumble occurred at the San Diego five-yard line, which would have very likely given the Broncos more points and set the game in a completely different direction. Both for Sanders and the team, it was almost a great play, and almost a runaway day.
Great Performance No. 2 – Ronnie Hillman
Ronnie Hillman has finally had the breakout season many have been predicting for the fourth-year back, rushing for 863 yards and seven touchdowns in split duty with C.J. Anderson, who had his breakout year last year.
Hillman logged four 100-yard performances this season, none bigger than the 117 yards he posted against the San Diego Chargers. On 15 carries and an otherworldly 7.8 yards per attempt, Hillman gashed the San Diego defense. His biggest carry on the day proved to be the game-winning touchdown run.
With the game knotted at 20, Denver had just forced its first turnover of the game, putting the ball in Peyton Manning’s hands on the San Diego 23-yard line. Manning, in turn, put the ball in Hillman’s hands, who took it to the house for the go-ahead score.
“Studs & Duds” is presented in part by…
[adrotate group=”1″]Almost Great Performance No. 2 – C.J. Anderson
Much like Emmanuel Sanders, C.J. Anderson came up just short of hitting a milestone number for the game. His 95 yards were just shy of delivering his third 100-yard game of the season, and what would have been a two-back effort in which both rushers reached the century mark for Denver.
But that won’t be the thing Anderson regrets most about the season finale against San Diego. For the second time in as many weeks, Anderson had a second-half fumble.
Against Cincinnati, it could have spelled disaster. Fortunately, the defense came up with two big stops afterward and Denver went on to win. Against San Diego, Anderson’s fumble put Philip Rivers in the position to take the lead. Luckily, Peyton Manning and the offense had time to reclaim it (more than once) and come away with a win.
Anderson had some impressive runs, bowling over Chargers defenders at a 6.3 yards per carry clip, and showed extreme determination when he had two different touchdowns overturned before getting in for good on a third try. But there’s no doubt that his almost great game was swayed by that big fumble, Denver’s fifth giveaway on the day.
Great Performance No. 1 – Peyton Manning
To read the stat lines on Peyton Manning in the comeback win over San Diego would be deceiving. The Hall of Fame quarterback completed only five passes for 69 yards in relief of Brock Osweiler in the 27-20 victory. His passer rating was a pedestrian 80.3. He had no touchdown passes.
What Manning did, however, was calm down an offense that had committed five turnovers and repeatedly coughed up great opportunities to put away the game. He protected the football (Denver had no additional turnovers) and he sparked an energy at Sports Authority Field that could be felt across Broncos Country.
Manning wasn’t flashy in his return – his longest completed pass went for 18 yards – but he checked into several plays that went for big gains, including C.J. Anderson’s 18-yard run that nearly went for a touchdown. Additionally, he goaded the Chargers into two procedural penalties that proved to be difference makers on scoring drives.
Although his numbers weren’t great, Manning’s presence was in the victory.
Almost Great Performance No. 1 – Brock Osweiler
Through one half on Sunday, Brock Osweiler had thrown for 222 yards and a touchdown on 13-of-21 passing. He ended the day with only 10 more yards and one more completion after being replaced by Peyton Manning midway through the third quarter.
Osweiler’s undoing in the game were the five turnovers committed with the first two and a half quarters. The first, a fumble my Emmanuel Sanders, and the last, a fumble by C.J. Anderson, couldn’t be attributed to Osweiler in any way. His two interceptions were arguably caused as much by his teammates as by the quarterback him self.
Maybe he put too much zip on what should have been a touch pass to Jordan Norwood. And perhaps Osweiler should have felt the pressure coming when his pass intended for Demaryius Thomas wobbled into the hand of a Chargers defender after he was hit as he threw. The same might be said when he didn’t recognize a corner blitz and fumbled as he was hit from behind.
Who knows? Perhaps if that first fumble by Emmanuel Sanders doesn’t happen and the Broncos go up by a 14-3 score, none of the other miscues happen and Osweiler goes on to have one of the best games of his career. But it all did happen, and Osweiler was left on the sidelines as the clock struck 00:00, almost having had a great game.