Without a doubt there was a lot at stake in the Broncos vs Chargers game where the locals could be the first in the AFC or sixth. The game was one of the worst offensively thanks to Osweiler performance but was taken from an unexpected arrival by the third quarter when Peyton Manning was welcomed back since Week 10, and what a comeback for the seasoned player.
After getting the first touchdown with just the second pass to Demaryius Thomas, a great play by the way, the errors began arriving in the offensive. The second drive of Broncos where it seemed the touchdown was close, Osweiler connected with Sanders, a great defensive play from the Chargers to snatch the ball.
Third offensive series from Denver and everything was looking good but after Osweiler throws looking for Norwood, the latter does not keep the ball and is intercepted by Williams. Next series culminates again with a loose ball now from Osweiler when Williams sneaks up to the QB and the Chargers have one more opportunity on offense.
In two more offensive series, Osweiler is again intercepted after Schofield can not contain Ingram who diverts the ball into the hands of Phillips. This was a nightmare for the Broncos. However, they were winning at halftime by a point but not for long when CJ Anderson drops the ball again in consecutive weeks, and leaves Chargers close to the seven points. Horrible game for Denver’s offense.
Osweiler did not do a terrible job he was playing well until he left the field replaced by Peyton Manning. The only situation where he should take complete responsibility was not detecting the blitz that caused the fumble but other than that, he was throwing well, the offensive was walking and there was no reason to bench the starter, at least not a direct reason.
They were playing for a lot. A defeat would have sent them down to the sixth place in the AFC to face the Chiefs in the Wild Card weekend in Arrow Head. Manning did what Osweiler could have done, yes but clearly the defensive becomes more cautious with experience. In the end the veteran was almost a show.
A very emotional game from the hands of these teams perhaps not from the very first quarter but we saw the fans roaring when Peyton Manning took the field in the third quarter, not an arguably bad performance from Osweiler but the force brought by Manning took the team to that extra energy they needed for the so wanted victory for the Broncos taking the number one seed in the AFC playoffs.
Chargers missed a lot of given opportunities. After four turnovers from its defense, the Chargers could only convert that into 10 points. Never did the number of turnovers from Broncos had the San Diego team with the upper hand, even though these are the mistakes that cost games.
This was a true reflection of the season the Chargers had in 2015 where they were never strong in the on the offensive. The defense strategy should not have changed when Manning came in. The Denver veteran quarterback has been inactive for many games and recovering from a foot injury so they had to keep delivering defensively. They had nothing to lose.
A player who has become very important to the success of Denver’s defense is Darian Stewart. Unfortunately for Broncos he came back out injured early in the game after making a good play on Antonio Gates. David Bruton who used to be a good replacement for Stewart, is out all year.
Later in the game the absence was well noticed. Two touchdowns from the Chargers were from the substitute safeties inattention. The touchdown from Antonio Gates came from a poor mark from Shiloh Keo and then Josh Bush could not agree with Talib and left the deep field free for Rivers to find Tourek Williams and take advantage in the game with an 80-yard touchdown.
DeMarcus Ware was also absent through injury and even Chris Harris came out with a shoulder injury. The good thing for them is that they will receive a bye in the playoffs.
Obviously Peyton Manning will be the starter in Denver. The problem is that his record in playoffs does not help and he is coming back out of rhythm. The running game is the success of this team’s offense and as they continue to improve and constantly opt for it, whoever the quarterback, they will succeed in the playoffs.
