Chargers vs. Broncos: 8 Takeaways from Denver's 27-20 Loss to San Diego
The Denver Broncos (11-3) lost to the San Diego Chargers (7-7), 27-20, on Thursday night for their third loss of the season.
With the loss, the Broncos no longer control their own destiny as far as the AFC's No. 1 seed is concerned. If the New England Patriots win their remaining three games, it'll be the Patriots—not the Broncos—who will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
From the second quarter onward, this was a game dominated by San Diego. The Chargers dominated the time-of-possession battle, possessing the football for nearly 39 minutes, while holding the Broncos to season lows in yards (295) and points (20).
In the absence of Wes Welker, the Broncos could not gain any momentum on offense. At one point in the game, they went three straight drives without gaining a first down—just the second time all season long that that has happened.
The Chargers improved their chances of gaining a wild-card berth, while the Broncos' chances at clinching the AFC's No. 1 seed decreased.
What are eight takeaways from Denver's 27-20 loss to the Chargers?
The Broncos Struggled Without Welker
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A lot of the criticism will again center on Peyton Manning and his play in cold weather.
That really was not the cause of Denver's offensive woes on Thursday night.
In contrast to Denver's loss to New England, which saw many of Manning's passes look like wobbly ducks, the lack of yards gained through the air was more a product of great defense by the Chargers combined with the absence of Wes Welker.
Without his safety valve and with defenses allowed to key in on Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker, Denver's receivers struggled to get open. Because Denver's receivers struggled to get open, Manning struggled to throw the football down the field. The Broncos had one play that went for over 20 yards all game long.
As John Fox put it after the game, according to Mike Klis of The Denver Post, "I'd say we didn't have our best stuff tonight. I think I'd agree with that. They obviously did a better job getting ready on the short week than we did."
Peyton was sacked for the first time in this game after going 126 straight dropbacks without one. San Diego's pass defense was able to clamp down on Denver's receivers without Welker.
That is the reason why Denver lost this game.
San Diego Came in with the Perfect Game Plan—and Executed
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The Chargers came into Week 10 with the perfect game plan versus the Broncos.
Limit the turnovers and control the clock—the problem was San Diego failed to convert three scoring opportunities in the first half into touchdowns. All it resulted in was six points.
In Week 15, San Diego had zero turnovers, controlled the clock and had their scoring opportunities yet again—only this time, they scored touchdowns.
That was the key difference between both games.
San Diego's defense held Denver to their lowest yards and points total of the season in Week 10. The defense was even better in Week 15 as it held the Broncos to just 295 total yards and 20 points.
Broncos Went Away from the Run Game Too Early
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I realize that the Chargers holding the football for more than 38 minutes of game clock forced Denver to adjust their game plan. The fact that San Diego led 24-10 in the third quarter also forced the Broncos to pass almost every play.
Having said that, the Broncos went away from the run too early—they simply did not run the football enough.
Knowshon Moreno and Montee Ball combined for 11 carries for just 18 yards. Holes were not being opened for either running back, and it was stunning to see how Denver's interior linemen were getting clearly beaten by San Diego's defensive linemen in the trenches.
In seeing how his offensive line was being dominated early on in the game, combined with San Diego's lead and domination of time of possession, coach John Fox completely abandoned the running game—the Broncos ran the football just three times in the second half.
During Denver's four consecutive drives of punting the football in the second and third quarters, the Broncos elected to run the football just twice.
This is not to say that the Broncos would have won had they ran the football more.
But it would have been better to see Denver run the football a little more, rather than choosing to throw the football with a struggling Manning under center.
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Ryan Mathews Was Key to San Diego's Victory
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For all of the criticism Ryan Mathews has received throughout his underwhelming four-year career in San Diego, he sure came out to play Thursday night in Denver.
Mathews ran for 127 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. Although Philip Rivers played excellent, it was Mathews—not Rivers—who was the key to San Diego's offense controlling the clock.
San Diego had 11 first downs running the football in comparison to the 10 they gained through the air. The Broncos hadn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in a single game all season long.
There were many firsts for the Broncos in this game—and they were all negative.
Kayvon Webster Has a Bad Night
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The Broncos' third-round draft selection has had a rookie season of up and downs.
Due to the absence of Champ Bailey for 11 of the team's 14 games played this season, Kayvon Webster has been forced to play a key role in Denver's defensive backfield earlier than most anticipated.
With Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie as Denver's No. 1 corner and Chris Harris Jr. considered the team's nickel cornerback, Webster frequently matches up with opposing teams' No. 1 and No. 2 wide receivers.
Unfortunately for Webster, there have been many times where he's been on the negative end of highlights. Tonight was one of those nights.
Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen had two touchdowns in the game. One saw Allen beat Rodgers-Cromartie on a crossing route only to completely leap over Webster into the end zone for his first touchdown. His second touchdown saw him match up with Kayvon in the end zone, only for Allen to catch a fade route over him.
To make matters worse, Mike Klis of The Denver Post reports that the rookie is to have thumb surgery, though it's not season-ending.
All things considered, it was a tough game for the rookie on Thursday night.
Defense Continues to Be a Problem
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Denver's run defense was at one point in time the very best in the NFL.
After its performance in Week 15, that feels like ages ago.
The Broncos came into this game ranked seventh in the NFL in run defense (92.7 yards allowed per game). The Broncos would end up allowing 127 yards to Ryan Mathews while allowing the Chargers as a team to gain 177 yards total on the ground.
Outside of Denver's lethargic passing performance in Week 15, who was the biggest culprit of San Diego's ability to hold onto the football for more than 38 minutes?
None other than the Broncos' front seven.
Patriots Have Control over AFC's No. 1 Seed
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Due to Denver's loss, the New England Patriots now have control over the AFC's No. 1 seed. As mentioned in the intro slide, as long as the Patriots win their remaining three games—even if Denver wins its remaining two—the Patriots will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Considering the Broncos have lost their last four games in New England—including their most recent one, a 34-31 loss in overtime—it probably wouldn't be such a good thing for the Broncos to play in New England in the postseason.
The Patriots will play in Miami versus the Dolphins in Week 15 before traveling to Baltimore to face the Ravens in Week 16. A week later they'll finish the regular season at home versus the Buffalo Bills.
The Broncos will finish the season with away dates against the Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders.
The Broncos had their chances to run away with the AFC's No. 1 seed—now they'll have to hope for a Patriots loss over the last three weeks just to have a chance at the conference's top seed.
It's Not the End of the World
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In spite of San Diego's dominating victory over the Broncos—a 7-7 team I may remind you—it's not the end of the world.
The Patriots themselves lost to a 6-7 Jets team in Week 7. Every elite team stumbles at some point in time during the season.
Although it's discouraging to see Denver's offense not as invincible as we once thought, now is not the time for panic—the Broncos will have time to fix their kinks before the postseason starts.
Although Denver no longer has control over the AFC's No. 1 seed, tonight's loss was far from being the end of the world.
If this team truly deserves to win the Super Bowl and has to go through Foxboro in order to win the Lombardi Trophy—then so be it.
This time of the year will reveal whether the Broncos are the team we thought they were.
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