Dud No. 1 – Brock Osweiler
Yes, Brock Osweiler was making only his third NFL start on Sunday, but the Broncos are in the thick of a hunt for the No. 1 seed in the AFC (thanks to Philadelphia handing New England a loss on Sunday) and need him to be better. 166 passing yards and one touchdown might be good enough to beat the 3-9 Chargers, but it won’t be enough against Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, whom the Broncos face in Weeks 15 and 16. And it certainly won’t be enough to win in the playoffs.
In the second half, without C.J. Anderson and once San Diego had adjusted to the play-action pass, Osweiler was held to just 69 yards passing. He passed for just three first downs in the half.
Worse, Denver failed to score any points off consecutive turnovers by San Diego to open the second half. With two chances to put their foot on the throat of the Chargers, the Broncos came up empty.
Osweiler can’t expect the defense to hold opponents to three points and score a touchdown every game. He needs to go for the kill or it could come back to catch him against better opponents. Denver won’t survive past their first playoff game if the offense is only generating 10 points per game come January.
