The Broncos dominated the San Diego Chargers for about 52 of
the 60 minutes during Sunday’s AFC Divisional Playoff game. Up 24-7, the
Broncos had established their control of the game and look for the knocked out
punch in those waning moments. Unfortunately, the game suddenly turned and the
Broncos had to hold on for dear life as the Chargers and Phillip Rivers mounted
a furious comeback to get the score to 24-17. The Broncos and Peyton Manning
found themselves in the same exact situation that they were in a year ago
against the Ravens. Denver was up 7 and needed three first downs to win the
game and advance. This time the Broncos put the ball in Peyton Manning’s hands
and went for the win, and they did just that. Manning completed a huge 3rd
and 17 to Julius Thomas, and then Manning complete a 3rd and 6 to
Thomas to essentially put the game away. A Knowshon Moreno run on 3rd
and 1 officially ended the game, but the two throws by Manning were the plays
that won the game at the end. For the Broncos, you could feel a weight lifted
off their shoulders after the game ended. The Broncos advanced to the AFC
Championship Game next week against the New England Patriots in Denver. There
is so much to get to in this game, so here are my thoughts and observations….
1)
The pressure was squarely on the Broncos and Peyton
Manning from the outset. Manning played really well, managed the game properly,
and controlled the game with his snap count. I thought he played really well,
and after the first drive, I felt that the Broncos and their fans settled down.
Manning’s 2 yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas gave Denver an early lead,
and it was the perfect way to start. Manning finished 25-36 for 230 yards and 2
touchdowns with 1 interception. I thought he played great, and it certainly
wasn’t going to be his fault if Denver lost the game.
2)
The key for me in this game was going to be Denver’s
defense against Phillip Rivers. You have to be impressed by the Broncos defense
in this game. Give credit to Jack Del Rio and John Fox in getting this defense ready for this game. They set the tone early with an early sack by Jeremy Mincey. They
forced a punt on the first drive, and they forced a 3 and out on the second
drive. Malik Jackson got a sack on Rivers on 3rd down to end the
Chargers third drive and forced a field goal attempt that Nick Novak missed.
They then got off the field and forced a punt on the next drive. It was a
spectacular performance for the three quarters by the Broncos defense. They were
intense, tackled well, and covered all of the receivers with blanket coverage.
It was just a dominating performance by a unit that has been inconsistent all
year.
3)
The interesting part of this game was the fact that
Denver was up 17-0 at the end of the third quarter, but the Broncos could have
had a much bigger lead. Julius Thomas fumbled across the 50 on the Broncos
second drive of the game. Eric Decker FELL DOWN AND TRIPPED with no one in
front of him on a punt return late in the first half. The Broncos squandered a
chance to score when Manning’s pass to Decker deflected off of him and was
intercepted by Donald Butler in the back of the end zone. The Broncos could
have easily been up 21-0 at the half instead of 14-0. Matt Prater also missed a
field goal late in the 3rd quarter for a chance to make it 20-0.
4) The Broncos scored touchdowns on two of their first
three drives. Manning’s 3 yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker to make it 14-0 was
a great play because Denver caught the Chargers on a blitz and the Broncos ran
a switch route and Welker was wide open in the flat. Great play and great call.
5) The key moment of this game wasn’t even shown on
television. Chris Harris was hurt away from the play late in the 3rd
quarter, and once he went out, the Chargers were finally able to move the ball.
Harris’ replacement was Quinten Jammer, and he was absolutely awful. He got
burned three times late in the game. Down, 24-7 the Chargers exploited the
matchup and scored a quick touchdown from Rivers to Keenan Allen. After Eric
Decker dropped the onside kick, Rivers again went up top to find Eddie Royal
and Allen. A San Diego field goal quickly cut the score to 24-17 just like
that. CBS never explained why Harris went out of the game, and I had to look on
Twitter during a commercial just to find out what happened to him. Harris will
miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, and it will be very hard to
overcome his injury next week. I’ll talk about his impact later in the week.
6)
How about the Broncos running game? San Diego baited
Denver into running the ball and taking away the deep passing game, and Denver
exploited it. Knowshon Moreno had 23 carries for 82 yards and 1 touchdown.
Montee Ball added 52 yards on 10 carries. Both guys ran hard, and the Broncos
offensive line dominated the Chargers up front all day long. Moreno’s 3 yard TD
run with 8 minutes to go in the 4th quarter gave Denver a 24-7 lead
and in my mind put the game away for the time being.
7)
Up 24-17 with 3:53 minutes to go, the Broncos found
themselves in the same exact position as they were a year ago against
Baltimore. They were up by a touchdown and needed to run out the clock to win
the game and advance. At their own 27 yard line, they started off the drive
with a false start, a one-yard loss on a Moreno run, and a dropped pass by
Demaryius Thomas. It set the stage for a 3rd and 16. Manning stepped
up in the pocket and found Julius Thomas all alone down the sideline on a wheel
route. Thomas adjusted to ball and got both feet down for first down. That was
the biggest play of the game, and Manning made a great throw. Three plays
later, Denver faced a 3rd and 6 with just over two minutes to go.
Last year against the Ravens, Manning and the Broncos faced a third and 6 in
almost the same exact situation, and they chose to run the ball and punt the
ball back to the Ravens. We all know what happened after that. This time they
put the ball in Manning’s hands and let him go clinch the game. Manning hit
Julius Thomas on a curl route for a 9 yard gain and essentially the
game-clinching first down. Two big time throws by Peyton Manning in those huge
moments of the contest.
8)
Denver’s win sets the stage for an epic AFC
Championship next week at home versus New England. Everyone wants to see Brady
vs. Manning for the AFC Title and now we get to see it. It will be a game for
the ages for the right to go to the Super Bowl. Trust me, I will have a lot to
write about later in the week about this matchup and this game.
9) One last thought on this win over San Diego.
I was so nervous for this game. I last time I was this nervous for a playoff
game was the 1998 AFC Championship Game against the Jets. I was nervous about the Chargers and they turned out to be a worthy opponent. I was nervous for the
Broncos and Manning. I was nervous because of what happened last year in the playoffs. I
looked like I was going to throw up right before the game started. Aren’t you
supposed to enjoy these playoff games? Once the game started I relaxed a
little. After the Broncos scored the touchdown on the opening possession, I was
able to relax more and actually enjoy the game. Those last eight minutes were
brutal though. Playoff football is intense, and that last quarter was about as
nerve-racking as it gets. Overall, it was a great win for Peyton Manning, the
Broncos, and the fans. It doesn’t take the sting away from last year’s loss to
the Ravens, but it makes it a little better to know that we got back to the
same spot and at least advanced to the AFC Championship Game with Tom Brady and
Bill Belichick waiting for us on the other end of it. Go Broncos!!!
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