Broncos Take Down Chargers, Improve to 6-5

 The Broncos entered Sunday's home game against the 6-4 Chargers as an underdog, but they left with a victory and a 6-5 record as they head into December. The Broncos controlled the Chargers 28-13 to record their sixth victory, put them back above .500, and have a chance to make a run at the playoffs down the stretch of the season. Here are my thoughts on the game....

1) The Broncos defense was the story in this game. They played very well. They got a pass rush consistently on Justin Herbert and registered three sacks, countless hurries, and two big interceptions. I thought Baron Browning played really well and was all over the field.

2) Patrick Surtain II continues to look like a stud first round pick for Denver. He intercepted Herbert  in the end zone with the Broncos up 14-7 in the fourth quarter, and he later added a 70 interception return TD later in the quarter to put the game away for good. Surtain has played really well this season, and this was his signature game.

3) The Broncos offense was okay for the time that Teddy Bridgewater was in at QB. They were up 7-0 and moving the ball when Bridgewater was blindsided by Derwin James and suffered a bruised leg that made him miss a few series. Drew Lock came in a led a scoring drive which was aided by the run game to make it 14-0. Denver was controlling the game until Lock threw a terrible interception right before the half. LA capitalized to make it 14-7. The Broncos had really dominated up until that point. After only running three plays in the third quarter, Bridgewater led the Broncos on a drive when they needed it most. Up 14-7 in the 4th quarter, Denver moved the ball right down the field and they put it into the endzone with a Bridgewater to Eric Saubert TD pass to make it 21-7. You can say what you want about Bridgewater, but he is the best option for this team at QB, and he has been the best option for this team at QB since Peyton Manning retired. 

4) Give Vic Fangio credit. He has his team ready. The defense played way better this week than they did two weeks ago in the loss to the Eagles. When Bridgewater was in at QB, the offense moved the ball consistently, and the running attack was once again headed by both Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams, who continues to impress. Denver controlled most of the game and dominated it in most facets. This was a very solid win.

5) The Broncos are 6-5 and heading to KC next week to play the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. This is exactly what you want: Meaningful football games in December. Consider this: Last year at this time, Denver was coming off that loss to New Orleans when Kendall Hinton had to start at QB after all of the QBs were out due to Covid protocols. At 4-7, the season was basically over. It will be a tall order to go into Arrowhead and knock off the Chiefs, but it will be fun to get excited about the Broncos biggest December game since 2016.