Broncos Bust Up Chargers, Improve to 10-2

The Broncos dominated the Chargers in San Diego on Sunday in route to a 17-3 win and advancing their record to 10-2. The Broncos jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and that would be all that they needed as their defense demolished, harassed, and dominated the rest of the game to cruise to a 17-3 lead. There were bumps in the second half and missed opportunities by the offense to extend the lead, but the defense took care of it and the game was never in doubt. It was a another big win for the Broncos as they are now tied with New England and Cincy for the best record in the AFC.
Here are my thoughts and observations on the game.....

1) Great first drive capped off by a Brock Osweiler to Demaryius Thomas touchdown to make it 7-0. Great drive and great way to start the game. The drive featured some good play-action and runs by C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman.

2) This game was about Denver's defense. What a dominating performance. Von Miller and Malik Jackson dominated up front. Miller had his best game of the year. Jackson was basically in the backfield all game long. I also like the way Derek Wolfe played and Shane Ray even stepped up his game in the second half. The pass rush continues to pressure and disrupt opposing offenses into submission.

3) Darian Stewart was a beast on Sunday. He blew up Antonio Gates on the sideline on the first drive, and he crushed another Chargers receiver to end the Chargers first drive of the game. He was so physical it was scary at one point. The whole defense in general was physical. They flat out beat up the Chargers

4) The defense forced Phillip Rivers to throw a pick-six to Danny Trevathan in the 1st quarter to make it 14-0. They forced the fumbles by Melvin Gordon and Malcolm Floyd in the second half. Bradley Roby crushed Floyd over the middle with a solid, textbook tackle to jar the ball loose and force a big turnover in the third quarter.

5) It was like giving a dominating starting pitcher a 1-0 lead in the first inning and then not worrying about it the rest of the way. Once Denver got up 7-0 and 14-0, their defense took over and the Broncos just had to avoid screwing it up. You just had a feeling that there was no way that the Chargers were going to comeback in this game.

6) Osweiler made some really nice throws but mainly stayed in the confines of the offense and that is all that he needed to do in this game. He had a bad pick in the endzone in third quarter, and the offense had some miscues that they should have capitalized on, but they really didn't need to do anything else but not turn the ball over and that is what they did. They played complimentary football with a defense that was absolutely dominant. Brandon McManus missed a field goal, and Osweiler's pick in the end zone took points off the board because this game felt like a 23-3 or a 27-3 game instead of a 17-23 final. Brock's numbers were pedestrian (16-26 166 yards 1 TD and 1 INT) but he didn't make too many mistakes, didn't take too many chances, and played within the offense. The running game was effective enough to keep drives alive and take time off the clock.

7) If nobody has noticed, this Broncos defense has pretty dominant all year long, but this might have been their best game of the year. Phillip Rivers has been putting up big numbers all year long, and the defense held him to just 202 yards. The defense got a pick-six, two forced fumbles, and four sacks (2 by Von Miller).

8) Phillip Rivers was a nemesis for the Broncos for most of his early career, but Denver has dominated him since 2012. He just doesn't scare them anymore, and every time they play it seems like Denver's defense just buries him down after down like they did in this game.

9) The Broncos continued their road dominance of the AFC West. They extended their NFL record with their 15th straight divisional road win on Sunday. They haven't lost an AFC West road game since December of 2011 when Josh McDaniels was the head coach and Kyle Orton was the QB in a loss at Kansas City. That is a pretty remarkable streak that has spanned Tim Tebow, Peyton Manning, and now Brock Osweiler.