Broncos Continue To Follow Their Winning Formula

(The Sports Xchange) - The Broncos have never made the postseason without at least one win over the Chargers, so the 27-19 win to salvage a split of the season series was important for historical and long-term reasons.

But in the short term, it served as a victory that was typical of the Broncos' template the last two seasons: a struggling offense bolstered by a defense that generated pressure, takeaways and, finally a game-saving stop in the final minutes.

A goal-to-go stand after the Chargers had first-and-goal at the Denver 2-yard line allowed the Broncos to escape; they aligned seven players in the box on each snap, leaving man-to-man coverage on the outside. With the box flooded, San Diego opted to throw four times. All the passes fell incomplete, with second-year cornerback Lorenzo Doss knocking away the fourth-down attempt to find Hunter Henry at the goal line to seal the stop.

But while the defense intercepted Philip Rivers three times -- returning one for a touchdown and setting up another score -- the offense squandered its repeated chances for points. T.J. Ward's third-quarter interception put the Broncos in a goal-to-go situation, but Devontae Booker's ill-fated attempt to reach the football forward to the goal line when he was at the San Diego 2 resulted in a fumble. Another red-zone opportunity ended when Melvin Ingram sacked Trevor Siemian, forcing a fumble that San Diego recovered.

"Obviously we're not even close to what we need to be. We know that," Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. "We didn't play well yesterday, but the team still found a way to win. That's a good sign for the football team. We just have to improve."

Siemian had one interception Sunday, when a pass bounced off the hands of Jordan Norwood and into the grasp of Casey Hayward, who returned it 24 yards for a touchdown that got the Chargers back within 24-19. But he also had four potential interceptions that bounced off the hands of Chargers defenders; just one of those resulting in a turnover could have changed the game.

"They're teachable really when they're near(-interceptions)," Kubiak said. "If not, they cost you games, so some of Trevor's decision-making yesterday was not as good as it's been for us as a football team."

For the Broncos to succeed, the offense must avoid turnovers. They had three Sunday. The defense bailed them out. But that won't always work, especially when five of the Broncos' next eight games are against the Raiders (twice), Chiefs (twice) and Patriots.