Denver Broncos Defense Dominates in Easy Win over the San Diego Chargers
The Denver Broncos are now on a three-game winning streak after defeating the division rival San Diego Chargers by a score of 17-3 Sunday. It was somewhat of a boring game, and the Broncos wonโt get any style points in this victory.
The offense wasnโt the star of the day against the Chargers. Instead, it was the defense that led the way for the Broncos.
The team was missing three starters on defense as nose tackle Sylvester Williams, linebacker DeMarcus Ware and strong safety T.J. Ward were out. Their replacements played well, but the Broncos ended up with a few more players (on offense and defense) banged up at the end of the game.
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Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak knows their depth is being tested with all these injuries.
โWell, I feel good about our depth but weโre being pushed to the limit I can tell you that. I thought we came off a really physical, emotional game last week and I thought it showed a little bit through the course of the week.โ Kubiak emphasized, โBut, we hung in there and found a way to win, and thatโs what a good team does.โ
The Broncos defense dominated in Week 13 as the team cruised to an easy win.
Another Defensive Touchdown
The Broncos were able to score 10 points on offense, but they scored seven points on defense with another interception returned for a touchdown. This time, linebacker Danny Trevathan plucked the ball out of the air and returned it 25 yards to the end zone. The first-quarter pick-six was the first the team has had since Aqib Talib did it against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6.
| Week | Opponent | Player | Scoring Play |
| 1 | Ravens | Aqib Talib | 51-yd INT return |
| 2 | Chiefs | Bradley Roby | 21-yd FUM return |
| 5 | Raiders | Chris Harris | 74-yd INT return |
| 6 | Browns | Aqib Talib | 63-yd INT return |
| 13 | Chargers | Danny Trevathan | 25-yd INT return |
The play was the first score of Trevathan'sย career, and it gave the Broncos five defensive scores on the season. Thatโs seventh-most in team history. With four more games to go, the Broncos could keep moving up this chart.
| Year | INT-TD | FUM-TD | DEF TDs |
| 1984 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 1997 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 2000 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 2012 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 1962 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 1976 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 2015 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Harassing Philip Rivers
Von Miller was relentless on Sunday. Of course, looking over his history in the NFL, Miller loves getting after Philip Rivers.
| Player | Team | Sacks |
| Philip Rivers | San Diego Chargers | 10.0 |
| Tom Brady | New England Patriots | 5.0 |
| Alex Smith | Kansas City Chiefs | 5.0 |
| Andy Dalton | Cincinnati Bengals | 4.0 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | Pittsburgh Steelers | 3.0 |
This was Millerโs 14th multisack game of his career. That is the fifth-most of any player in the NFL since 2011, and it ties Miller with teammate DeMarcus Ware in that category.
| Player | Team | Number of Multisack Games |
| J.J. Watt | Texans | 22 |
| Elvis Dumervil | Broncos/Ravens | 17 |
| Aldon Smith | 49ers/Raiders | 17 |
| Justin Houston | Chiefs | 16 |
| Von Miller | Broncos | 14 |
| DeMarcus Ware | Cowboys/Broncos | 14 |
Kubiak liked what he saw from the teamโs pass-rushers.
โYeah, I thought we had good pressure all day long. We were really consistent and we didnโt really blitz a lot.โ Kubiak continued, โWe played coverage and I let those guys do their job. I thought we did a good job of pushing the pocket.โ
Rivers entered the game as the second-leading passer in the NFL. The Broncos held him to just 202 yards passing Sunday. In fact, the Broncos are the only team in the league that hasn't allowed a 300-yard passer this season.
Getting after the quarterback is natural for this defense, and they love to wreak havoc on opponents. The Broncos didnโt have to blitz Rivers that often to get to him or put him under duress. Itโs easy to see why the Broncos were able to keep the Chargers passing game in check as Rivers didnโt have much time to throw Sunday.
Shutting Down Chargers Running Backs
The Chargers couldnโt do much on the ground against the Broncos. Theyโre one of the most pass-happy teams in the league because their rushing attack has been stuck in neutral for most of the season.
Rookie first-round pick Melvin Gordon has not lived up to expectations. The former Wisconsin star (ring a bell?) drew comparisons to Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles before the draft, but the young runner has not been able to do much this season. So far this year, Gordon has onlyย 565 yards rushing and is averaging 3.6 yards per carry.
Gordon ran for 55 yards on 12 carries against the Broncos. His 4.58 yards-per-carry average against the Broncos was his second-best average of the season (he averaged 5.5 versus the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2). The game was never really out of hand, but the Chargers couldnโt get Gordon on track.
Most of the rushing problems have to do with the poor offensive line. The Chargers have been ravaged by injuries at the position, and the Broncos were able to take advantage of them up front. The Broncos controlled the point of attack, and they were often getting to Gordon in the backfield.
All of these defensive factors added up for an easy win for the Broncos in Week 13.
All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand.ย Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos media department unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats via ESPN's employees-only database.
Contract and salary-cap information provided byย Spotrac. Transaction history provided byย Pro Sports Transactions.
