There hasn't been a lot of excitement in Denver since Peyton Manning retired and the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. Denver rallied from a 24-3 second half deficit and scored 21 points in the 4th quartet to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 in a thrilling comeback at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday. The win improved the Broncos record to 3-4, and the type of win that you can hopefully look back on as a turning point for this franchise. Here are my thoughts and observations on the game....
1) I thought the defense did a nice job on Justin Herbert for most of the first half and then they gave up some big plays late in the half. Justin Simmons had a nice pick on Herbert on the Chargers third play of the game, and they stopped them on a 4th down play deep in Denver territory. Yes, Herbert got hot at one point, but he was aided by a defensive holding call late in the first half that nullified a sack. The Chargers were also able to gash the Broncos defense in the run game a few times, and that helped Herbert and that offense build a 24-3 lead. Herbert is good, especially for a rookie QB, but let's not put him in the Hall of Fame just yet.
2) The Broncos offense was downright awful in the first half. Drew Lock was having a very rough day, and the play-calling made me scratch my head a few times. They couldn't run the ball and they just looked really bad on offense for a long stretch. I was actually thinking that Lock was going to get pulled in the 3rd quarter. I really thought they might go to Brett Rypien at one point.
4) Turning point #1 of the comeback came when Herbert got intercepted by Bryce Callahan in end zone in the third quarter with the Chargers up 24-10. After Philip Lindsay gave Denver some life by breaking a long TD run to cut the lead to 24-10, the Broncos got the ball back and Lock promptly threw an awful pick into double coverage. Herbert then threw one of his own in the endzone on a third down play. If there is no interception there, then the Chargers will attempt a short field goal and probably be up 27-10. Give Callahan credit for making that great play.
5) Turning point #2 of the comeback was the quick score from Lock to DaeSean Hamilton on a 40 yard pass play to cut it to 27-24 midway through 4th quarter. After LAC extended their lead to 27-17, the Broncos answered right away with a big Lindsay run, a late hit penalty on LAC, and the TD strike from Lock to Hamilton. They were back to within 3 points without wasting any time.
6) Turning point #3 of the comeback was the personal foul on Hunter Henry for an illegal crackback block on Chargers final drive. The Chargers had to settle for a field goal and 30-24 lead. It left the door open for Lock at then end.
7) What a great drive by Lock to win it at the end. They went 81 yards in 14 plays with 2:30 seconds left and one timeout. The drive was aided by two pass interference calls, one was for a first down near midfield and the other set up the Broncos at the LAC 1 yard line with one second to go. The two underrated plays were when Lock scrambled and found Hamilton for a first down and Melvin Gordon diving for the first down on a key third down late in the game and deep in LAC territory. After the pass interference on Albert O in the end zone . The Broncos had one play from the 1 yard line with one second left. It was a great pass from Lock to KJ Hamler to win it. Lock rolled right and bid time as he rolled out and found Hamler, who caught the pass and fell on his backside to secure it in the endzone. Brandon McManus nailed the extra point and the Broncos fulfilled the comeback 31-30.
8) What a game and what a comeback. It has been a long time since the Broncos had a win like that. I'm happy for the team and happy for Lock. I thought this could be the end of Lock in Denver at one point in this game, and he played great in the 4th quarter to secure the comeback. He finished 26-41 for 248 yards with 3 TDs and 1 Int. This was definitely his signature game of his young Broncos career, and maybe the turning point for him as the guy in Denver. John Elway led Denver from a 21-0 deficit to beat the Colts in his rookie year in 1983. Peyton Manning led the Broncos to a win over the Chargers in 2012 after being down 24-0. Now, Lock leads Denver back to a win over the Chargers after being down 24-3. Let's hope this is the start of something special for Lock and the Broncos.
9) At 3-4, the Broncos have a chance to make something of the season once again. They have to get a win next week at Atlanta against the 2-6 Falcons. They need to get to 4-4 and then see if they can make a run at this thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment