Quick Reaction: Denver Broncos vs. San Diego Chargers Thursday Night Football

October 14, 2016

Denver Broncos – 13 @ San Diego Chargers – 21

Did I give the San Diego Chargers too little credit?

Maybe.

I forget the immense amount of pressure Chargers quarterback, Philip Rivers, often finds himself in. As a father of eight children, Rivers needs his millions to support his family. A four-year extension in 2015 has secured his job until 2019, but what then. Rivers is 34-years old. In 3-years, he’ll be 37. He’s probably looking to be employed until the age of 40, when all quarterbacks begin to spoil.

Did I give the Broncos too much credit?

Maybe.

Before Trevor Siemian’s injury, he was starting to look like a true franchise quarterback. His performance against the Chargers has to make you wonder if Siemian should have been playing in Thursday night’s game. He attempted the most passes in a game so far (50) but ended with his lowest QBR rating (23.3) of the season. Siemian did make some nice completions in the second half, but his effort was too little, too late. The Broncos were held to only a field goal in the first half. And It wasn’t just the offense that faltered. The Broncos defense looked lost defending against the Chargers offense.

Maybe it was the bright blue “color rush” uniforms.

The Chargers uniforms were electric…boogie, woogie, woogie.

https://youtu.be/-mOY2eWO2qw

The Chargers won.

Yeah, I can’t believe it either. The Chargers looked, dare I say it, impressive. During their first possession, Philip Rivers had a beautiful drive, ending with a touchdown pass to rookie tight end Hunter Henry.

In their second possession, the Chargers drive lasted over 10 minutes, resulting in a field goal putting the Chargers up 10-0.

Surprisingly, the Chargers started strong, held onto the lead and finished strong. Rivers for the most part played it safe with 178 yards and a TD, but was effective and, unlike his two previous outings, didn’t turn over the ball.

It wasn’t just the Chargers offense that won. The Chargers defense was, dare I say it, impressive. They were able to hold the Broncos to 13 points with 2 sacks, limiting the run game to 84 yards and the passing game to 230 yards and a touchdown.

What went wrong with the Broncos.

The Broncos looked to have trouble on offense and defense against the Chargers. Trevor Siemian was unable to move the ball until the 4th quarter. But, penalties were the biggest issue for the Broncos as they totaled 12 penalties for 103 yards. Yup, they had enough penalties to cover the entire length of the field.

The Broncos did have signs of hope though near the end…

A costly muffed punt by Travis Benjamin was recovered by the Denver Broncos. The recovery ended with a field goal by the Denver Broncos.
With less than 30 seconds left in the 4th quarter, the Broncos recover an on-side kick trailing by just one score.