I didn't get a chance to re-watch the game on NFL rewind until this afternoon.
I was actually impressed with the defense and disappointed with the offense on this one...the opposite of almost every other game this season. I think the best thing they did on offense all game was the fake punt on the first possession. It was a gutsy call on their own 28, but it eventually led to a punt after a 39 yard run by Ryan Mathews got called back on a holding penalty. Mathews got hurt on the play and didn't play for the rest of the first quarter, but came back in the 2nd quarter ending with 14 carries, 59 yards, 1 TD.
The defense held the Broncos to their lowest point total of the year and kept the Chargers in the game by allowing only 1 TD by the Broncos in the 2nd half. That "Amoeba" front 7 the Chargers have been playing for the last 3 weeks got to Peyton Manning. It will be interesting to see what the Chiefs come up with this Sunday. The Chargers' defense made two big mistakes...the first on the Broncos first drive when Julius Thomas scored on a simple pass in the flat that he took 74 yards. No one covered the TE and Derek Cox should have easily forced him out of bounds (Cox ended up getting benched, but came back in in the 2nd half when his replacement got injured). The 2nd big mistake was on a bubble screen to Demaryius Thomas that scored a TD. Chargers got caught on a corner blitz so they were out manned on that side.
What really doomed the Chargers chances of winning was the offense getting into the red zone three times in the first half and came away with only 6 points (2 made FGs and 1 missed). Phillip Rivers was a pedestrian 19-29, 218 yards, 1 TD. Needed more from him if the Chargers had any chance of winning. Vincent Brown did drop a TD in the 2nd quarter.
Broncos did a good job of taking away Keenan Allen, who had been Rivers' favorite receiver the last few weeks. Allen ended up with only 4 catches for 41 yards.
The Chargers' again suffered injuries to two areas they couldn't afford to lose. LT King Dunlap left the game forcing rookie D.J. Fluker to move from RT to LT for the 2nd time this year. Dunlap is listed as out with a neck injury.
Allen (3rd round) and Fluker (1st round) have been two great pickups in the draft.
OLB Larry English also left the game in the 2nd half. The Chargers are already without their two starting OLBs and one of the backups. English was put on the IR earlier this week. Coincidentally, the Chargers picked up Andrian Robinson who had played 6 games for the Broncos this season.
Even though the final score looked close and the defense kept them in the game, the Chargers' offense never threatened the tying TD/2 point conversion. From a game plan perspective the Chargers did what they needed to, holding the ball and keeping the Broncos to only 11 possessions, but they didn't put the ball into the end zone enough times.
This game left me encouraged about the defense, but also left me wondering if the league has seen enough of their new offense and figured out how to defense it.
I was able to see quite a few of the Charger's early games but haven't seen much of late other than highlights. They are a team that contradicts itself by playing Denver so well, beats Indy, beats Dallas but loses to Oakland, Tennesse, and Houston. Rivers and Gates are having great years but the running game seems ok but not spectacular and after Gates I'm not sure the receiving corps is good enough to sustain drives when San Diego has to throw the ball more. The defense has also struggled a whole lot. Has to be frustrating for Chargers fans. Between a tough schedule down the stretch most are probably looking forward to the draft. Hopefully they can pull out some surprises, get 5 more wins and make a play for a wild card spot.
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