Team Grades: Broncos Race Past Chargers 35-21, Keep Hold On AFC West Lead
By Dave Thomas
As if Denver quarterback Peyton Manning does not already have enough toys to play with.
The future Hall of Famer, who just set the all-time mark last Sunday (509) for career touchdown passes, hit wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders for three touchdowns Thursday evening to help lead the Broncos to a 35-21 win over AFC West rival San Diego. With the victory, the Broncos (6-1) moved a game and a half in front of the Chargers (5-3) in the division race (the two teams meet again Dec. 14 in San Diego).
While many Denver fans and others around the league have been familiar with the likes of Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas and Wes Welker in the orange and blue, Sanders came over to the Mile High City from the Steel City of Pittsburgh. After his performance Thursday evening in front of the home faithful, no doubt many more people now know what a weapon he is in playing with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time.
Sanders finished his evening with nine catches for 120 yards, as Denver continues to fire on just about all cylinders on offense. In their last three contests (Jets, 49ers, Chargers), the Broncos have tallied 108 points.
San Diego Needs To Ramp Up Defense
Whether it was the level of competition (Buffalo, Jacksonville, New York Jets) that the Chargers played when their defense was rolling or just running into some better quarterbacks in recent weeks (a surprising Derek Carr in Oakland, Kansas City's Alex Smith, Manning), San Diego's 'D' has not been at its best over the last three games.
Yes, not having Brandon Flowers (suffered concussion in Kansas City loss) in the secondary Thursday evening and some other injuries (including Manti Te'o) has hurt the squad, but many other teams are feeling the pain likewise. Point blank, the Chargers' defense needs to get back to playing smash-mouth football and harassing the opposing quarterback.
Manning, who is on par for yet another MVP season, was able to pick apart San Diego's secondary on this late October evening, finishing the night 25-of-35 for 286 yards and three TD strikes.
Even though it was a second straight loss for the Bolts, they are far from removed in the AFC West playoff race.
With that said, an improving Kansas City squad is not far behind at 3-3. Meantime, Denver is now not only all but the clear frontrunner to win the division crown, but in the lead to finish with the top seed in the AFC for the third straight season.
For the Chargers, it comes down to refocusing on what got them off to such a great start at 5-1 and staying in the hunt long enough to make big AFC West games with the Broncos and Kansas City (on the road Dec. 28) meaningful.
Team Grades:
Offense (C) - It seems like a broken record at this point, but San Diego HAS TO establish a consistent running game if it wants to contend for and win the AFC West and move forward. Yes, starting running back Ryan Mathews will hopefully be back in a few weeks (knee injury), but even having him back doesn't guarantee a stable running attack. Newcomer Branden Oliver continues to give the Bolts all he can, but San Diego's inability week after week to dominate the line of scrimmage and run the ball effectively for four quarters is hurting the team. On this night, Oliver finished with 36 yards on 13 carries, while the Bolts in total only netted 61 yards on the ground. Kudos to future Hall-of-Fame tight end Antonio Gates for becoming the leading yardage receiver (Lance Alworth) in team history. Gates ended the evening with five receptions for 54 yards and a pair of TD's, topping Alworth, who ended his San Diego career with 9,584 yards (1962-70).
Defense (C-) - Okay, no one likes going up against Manning (though some will say they welcome the challenge). That said the Broncos' field general systematically picked apart an injured but still decent defense. It seemed at times like the Chargers' defense was a step behind literally and figuratively. Yes, beating three mediocre to really bad teams earlier in the season may have set the expectations bar too high for this defense, but they still have some solid talent in the likes of Eric Weddle (eight solo tackles versus Denver), Dwight Freeney and Donald Butler for starters. It is getting solid contributions from the other eight men on any given play that is key. Marcus Gilchrist had a good night with six tackles, but San Diego had trouble stopping Manning and San Diego State product Ronnie Hillman (20 carries, 109 yards rushing). With upcoming games at Miami and home to Oakland and St. Louis, the Chargers need to get that smash-mouth defense back before the schedule gets tough again starting Nov. 30 in Baltimore.
For more Chargers news and updates, visit Chargers Central.
Dave Thomas has been covering the sports world since his first job as a sports editor for a weekly newspaper in Pennsylvania back in 1989. He has covered a Super Bowl, college bowl games, MLB, NBA and more. His work can be found on Examiner.com.