The Third Game in the Brock Osweiler Era vs The Chargers

The Broncos vs Chargers was the third game in the Brock Osweiler era and was also the third win. We did not see anything spectacular with Denver who got 10 points with the offense of which seven were achieved in their first drive. This was the highlight.

The Broncos opened the game with a very good drive where we saw CJ Anderson exploiting the gaps between the line, breaking tackles and balancing for extra yards. Having a dangerous player opens up many possibilities in the Gary Kubiak picture.

As a result the Denver offense, with the help of Brock Osweiler, managed to score the only touchdown of the game on a play action where had a Demaryius Thomas uncovered in the center of the zone.

Before Anderson injured his ankle and left the field, he managed 42 yards on seven carries. After that we only we saw glimpses of the Broncos running game where they insist on using Ronnie Hillman to attack between the tackles, a player who lacks the physique to gain yards after the first contact. In some plays we saw Juwan Thompson who often runs better in the middle of the line but they gave greater participation to Hillman. The offensive line that Denver has should look for better options if Anderson does not return for the next game against Oakland.

It is true that the Chargers have not had a great year and have had to achieve their victories but they are not just any offense with a quarterback such as Philip Rivers in controls who is second in passing yards behind only Tom Brady. They are the one of the best offensives, in sixth with 4,567 yards but suffer when scoring with only 247 points in the season.

The truth is that the Broncos’ defense played well against the Chargers allowing only a field goal and a touchdown, thanks to Danny Trevathan managed to intercept Rivers and got the score.

Rivers pressure was good considering that without DeMarcus Ware the sacks production reduces sharply. They got four on the game, two of which were Von Miller. Most important was the balls generated at times in their favor where Chargers were already in Denver territory.

A big part of the disastrous Chargers campaign so far has been because the offense depends on a great performance from Rivers in every single game. In part the injuries are another nail, but the players around him and especially his offensive line has not helped protect him correctly in turn his passes lack the same precision they had in the past.

Rookie Melvin Gordon has not been the player that most analysts thought he would become, we have only seen moments of his ´potential´. Often they expect Danny Woodhead to complement the work of Gordon although they clearly have very different styles. Even in this game we saw Donald Brown taking an occasional interesting move but did not move past there.

Well, not much quality in the receiving group having players like Stevie Johnson and his favorite tight end Antonio Gates. Mike McCoy specialty is absent and it shows.

Although San Diego is the 29th defense in points allowed, against Broncos they had a good game and only allowed 10 points in the first half. Throughout the second part of the game they did not allow Osweiler’s offense and company anymore successes and somehow kept the game alive.

Jason Verrett with an interception in the end zone on a pass, Osweiler seeking Sanders. Eric Weddle had some key plays reaching the offensive player to avoid rushing pass reception and also assisted by making the Broncos quarterback very uncomfortable.

Gary Kubiak feels more comfortable with a quarterback who does and can achieve the objective in its own way, a situation that led John Elway to take Osweiler to Denver, that returning to the previous system with Peyton Manning apparently healthy but nevertheless a system which the Broncos Head Coach is not used to run on his teams.

The team is entering an important step towards the playoffs and any significant change to the offensive could spell another disaster for Broncos and Manning in those instances.

The final calendar is a very complicated one, having as opponents the Raiders, Steelers, Bengals and Chargers and the first three at least are still fighting for something towards this season playoffs.