Denver Broncos’ Defense Leads Way in Win Over Chargers, 17-3
The Denver Broncos’ defense led the way in Sunday’s win over the San Diego Chargers by a score of 17-3.
The Denver Broncos stunned the New England Patriots last week, behind impressive performances from Brock Osweiler and C.J. Anderson. The Denver Broncos scored a touchdown in the final minutes of regulation to gain a three point lead over the Patriots, but Tom Brady drove down the field with seconds left to give Stephen Gostkowski a chance to tie the game. Gostkowski nailed the 47-yard field goal to send the game into overtime; however, the Denver Broncos prevailed to win the game off an unbelievable rushing touchdown by Anderson.
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The Denver Broncos looked to carry their momentum from last week into Sunday’s matchup against the San Diego Chargers. The Denver Broncos entered the matchup banged up on defense, with three key players ruled out for the game: T.J. Ward, DeMarcus Ware, and Sylvester Williams all suffering from a variety of injuries. Both Ward and Williams missed this week’s practices, but Ware looked poised to return to the field after being sidelined for almost a month due to a back injury. However, Ware missed Sunday’s game against the Chargers to make sure he is at full health for next week’s game against the Raiders.
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For a third-straight week, Brock Osweiler lined up under center to start the game; moreover, Peyton Manning did not travel with the team to San Diego. Manning wanted to focus on his rehabilitation process for his partially torn plantar fascia, so he could return in tip-top condition. The Denver Broncos entered Sunday’s game with a 9-2 record, compared to the Chargers’ 3-8 record. The Chargers’ hoped to build off of their win last week against the Jaguars, but they would need to play a near-flawless game to come away with the victory against the Broncos.
The Denver Broncos opened the scoring up in the first quarter against the Chargers, with an eight-play, 76-yard drive that ended with Osweiler connecting with Demaryius Thomas on a three-yard touchdown. Right before the end of the first quarter, the Denver Broncos showcased why they are considered one of the best defenses in the NFL. Danny Trevathan interecepted Philip Rivers and returned it to the house for a pick-six to increase the Denver Broncos’ lead to 14-0 as the first quarter finished.
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In the second quarter, the Denver Broncos extended their lead to 17-0 after a 14-play, 46-yard drive resulted in a Brandon McManus 23-yard field goal. Following the Broncos’ field goal, the San Diego Chargers marched down the field to score a field goal of their own, a 51-yard field goal by Josh Lambo to cut the deficit back to 14 points. The Denver Broncos entered halftime with a 17-3 lead and onward to their 10th win of the season. The second-half of play did not resemble the first-half, with both teams struggling to get anything going offensively.
The third quarter saw three turnovers altogether, two by the Chargers and one by the Denver Broncos. Von Miller forced Melvin Gordon to fumble, and Miller recovered the fumble to mark the second turnover by the Chargers on the game. Following the Gordon fumble, the Denver Broncos drove into field goal position for McManus to tack on an an extra three points, but he pushed the kick wide-right. On the following drive by the Chargers, the Denver Broncos forced another fumble. This time, Josh Bush stripped Malcom Floyd for the third turnover by the Chargers.
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Brock Osweiler threw an interception in the endzone in the third quarter to mark the first turnover by the Denver Broncos on the game. Outside of a turnover happy third quarter, the second-half remained relatively quiet, but in garbage time in the fourth quarter, the Denver Broncos forced two turnover-on-downs, to increase their turnover margin to plus-four. The game ended in a 17-3 win by the Denver Broncos to improve their record to 10-2 on the season.
C.J. Anderson and Vernon Davis had to leave the game early due to injuries sustained. Davis suffered a concussion and will be subjected to the league’s concussion protocol heading into next week’s game against the Raiders. Osweiler finished 16 for 26 for 166 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Philip Rivers failed to find the endzone this week, finishing with 202 passing yards and one interception. The Denver Broncos’ defense led the way this week, and Osweiler improved to 3-0 as a starter for the team.
Next: Von Miller Fined for Late Hit on Tom Brady
The Denver Broncos move on to face the Oakland Raiders, as they look to improve to 11-2 on the season. Gary Kubiak will have a tough decision on who to start at quarterback, because Peyton Manning is nearing a return. Stay tuned on that front. Overall, it was a good win by the Denver Broncos.