San Diego Chargers vs. Denver Broncos: Complete Report-Card Grades for Denver
The Denver Broncos are putting together a very good 2014 NFL season.
Following a 35-21 victory over the San Diego Chargers on Thursday Night Football, the Broncos have taken over first place in the AFC West.
The Broncos got it done on both sides of the ball on Thursday, gaining 425 yards of offense and forcing two turnovers.
The Broncos were able to throw the ball and run the ball effectively against San Diego, and Philip Rivers was forced to deal with a fast, athletic defense.
"Only 1 team the Broncos have faced this year is currently under .500. Denver is 6-1. pic.twitter.com/aSktIB2bVv
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 24, 2014"
After enjoying their last two games at home in which they've outscored their opponents 77-38, the Broncos will now go on the road for the next three meetings.
The first of which will take place in Week 9 at Gillette Stadium against the New England Patriots.
For more on the Thursday night game, including game grades for each positional unit, read on.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Peyton Manning put on another brilliant display on Thursday night, throwing for 286 yards while completing 25 of 35 passes. He threw three touchdowns on the night, all of which went to Emmanuel Sanders.
Manning made great throws all night. The only mistake he made was on a pass that was intercepted by Eric Weddle in the end zone, but that didn't even count due to a holding penalty against the Chargers.
Just before halftime, with the score tied 7-7, Manning saw Sanders matched up against San Diego cornerback Richard Marshall. Sanders got a few steps on Marshall and Manning threw a perfect ball for a 31-yard touchdown.
"Peyton Manning tonight has posted his 90th career game with at least 3 TD passes, extending his NFL record.
— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) October 24, 2014"
This was a critical play in the game, and one that deflated the Chargers, who had worked so hard to tie the game up.
Manning finished with a quarterback rating of 124.2 and is playing as well as anyone in the NFL at the moment.
Grade: A
Running Back
2 of 10
The Broncos continue to churn out yardage in the running game, and they continue to do it without Montee Ball.
Ronnie Hillman performed well for the third game in a row, gaining 109 yards on 20 carries. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry and had a long run of 37 yards.
What was most exciting was finally seeing what Hillman can do in the open field. He is extremely quick.
Juwan Thompson, an undrafted rookie from Duke, continues to impress as well. Thompson seems to be carving out a niche as a goal-line running back for the Broncos. He scored two touchdowns from close range on Thursday night.
"Ronnie HIllman is going to make that Montee Ball injury a lot worse than it first appeared
— trey wingo (@wingoz) October 24, 2014"
Thompson also picked up a key first down on 3rd-and-1 on the last play of the third quarter in which he initiated contact and knocked defenders backwards.
Thompson likes contact, and that's not a bad thing. He is serving as a great complement to the speedy Hillman.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Manning spread the wealth, as he usually does, on Thursday night, but it was Sanders who put forth the best game of his young career.
Sanders caught nine passes for 120 yards while finding the end zone three times. Before Week 7, Sanders hadn't scored a touchdown on the season. In the last two games, he has a total of four.
Sanders had gains of 38 and 31 yards on the night and did a great job of running routes and getting open.
Demaryius Thomas became the first player in team history to post four consecutive 100-yard receiving games. He caught eight passes for 105 yards on the night.
Julius Thomas didn't make as much noise as we're used to, catching just two passes for 23 yards. However, it goes to show how complete this team is when he can be that quiet and the team still wins by 14 points.
Wes Welker didn't make much of an impact on the stat sheet either, but he made a very big play late in the game.
After Sanders caught a pass and picked up a nice gain in the fourth quarter, he had the ball punched out of his hands. Despite four or five Chargers being very close to the ball, Welker put his head down and pounced on the ball, keeping possession for Denver.
The Denver passing game is firing on all cylinders.
Grade: A
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The offensive line did their job on Thursday night, playing a solid game against a fierce defense.
In the passing game, Manning was hit just one time. San Diego didn't even really get close to a sack.
Running the ball, they opened holes for Hillman, who frequently reached the second level of the defense. On the night, the team ran for 139 yards and averaged 4.6 yards per carry.
Orlando Franklin didn't have his best game, however. Early on, Franklin completely missed a block against Ricardo Mathews who then pulled Hillman to the ground for a loss of yardage on a third-down play.
Later, Franklin was flagged for holding after Hillman produced a 33-yard touchdown run, forcing the play to come back.
Paul Cornick looked better at the right tackle position than he did against San Francisco in Week 7, but he did draw a false start penalty with two minutes left in the game that seriously agitated Manning.
Still, the unit played a very good game and came in well prepared for a tough opponent.
Grade: B+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
San Diego found it very difficult to run the football against the Broncos in this game, and the push the Broncos were getting from their defensive line was instrumental.
Branden Oliver was able to gain just 36 yards on 13 carries, and a lot of that came when the game was already decided.
San Diego stuck with the run for as long as it could but found no success.
Derek Wolfe and Terrance Knighton were also able to combine for a sack of Rivers as the pocket collapsed.
DeMarcus Ware was kept quiet on the night as the San Diego offensive line did a good job overall protecting Rivers.
Wolfe had perhaps his best performance of the season, and that has to be encouraging for the team and the fans.
Wolfe was able to generate a good pass rush, especially on third downs. There were a few instances in which the Chargers had to bring over an extra blocker to help against Wolfe.
"Just like Sunday night: Derek Wolfe draws two blockers, and all Miller has to do is beat Fluker outside.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) October 24, 2014"
If the Broncos can get a consistent third pass-rusher to go with Ware and Von Miller, look out.
Grade: B
Linebackers
6 of 10
Does anyone still believe that Brandon Marshall can't adequately replace Danny Trevathan?
Sure, Trevathan is a very talented player, but Marshall has been terrific in his absence. That was never more evident than what we saw on Thursday night.
Once again Marshall led the team in tackles, with 10, but two of those went for a loss and he also had a pass defensed.
Marshall was personally responsible for destroying the evening for Oliver, who seemed to be taken down by the Denver linebacker every time he touched the ball.
At one point during the game, Oliver had been given a total of 12 touches for a loss of three yards.
Marshall was also able to drop back in coverage and was right there on a third-down pass that Rivers tossed out to Antonio Gates. Marshall ensured that it would be incomplete.
Terrific night for Marshall.
Nate Irving posted seven tackles and Von Miller recorded another sack, No. 9 on the season. Is there anyone in the league playing better defense than Miller?
He has made a huge impact on the defense and will be a tough matchup for any team this season.
Grade: A+
Secondary
7 of 10
Though Rivers was able to complete 30 passes on the night, the secondary still played a good game. After all, he is one of the league's better quarterbacks.
Several members of the Denver secondary are having very good years, and free-agent acquisition Aqib Talib is very good.
Talib was credited with two pass breakups on the night, though it seemed like Rivers couldn't complete much against him. On top of that, he is an excellent tackler. He had seven tackles in the game.
The Broncos were able to come up with two interceptions, the first of which came on a play in which Rivers' intended receiver, Keenan Allen, slipped, and the ball was caught by Chris Harris.
The Broncos turned that turnover into points, taking a 21-7 lead, and they never looked back.
Late in the game, Rivers took a desperation shot down the field, but safety Rahim Moore came across the field and made a great play on the ball to get the interception.
That had to feel good for a player who will always be remembered for the play he didn't make against Joe Flacco and Baltimore.
"Rahim Moore with the interception. Philip Rivers looked deep up the right sideline, and Moore played the pass to Floyd perfectly.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) October 24, 2014"
The Broncos also need to try a new approach in covering receivers and tight ends on short routes across the middle. This has been a problem for this team for years.
It might not be a bad idea to use Quinton Carter in more defensive packages.
Grade: B-
Special Teams
8 of 10
If the Broncos had a unit that didn't perform all that well on Thursday night, it was special teams.
In the kicking game, Brandon McManus continues to be very inconsistent. He did get good distance on his kickoffs, but the thin air in Denver will generally do that.
He was brought on for a 53-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter that would have iced it for Denver, but he missed it pretty badly.
Does McManus have a more serious injury to his groin than the Broncos are letting on? Are they still confident in him? What if an important game comes down to his leg?
These are questions that need to be answered soon.
Returning kicks has been a question mark all season for Denver, and that didn't change in this game.
Following the score in which San Diego tied the game at 7-7, Andre Caldwell coughed up the ball on the ensuing kick. Replays were shown, and it was very close.
It was hard to tell whether Caldwell's elbow was fully down, but it didn't seem like there was enough visual evidence to overturn the call on the field of a fumble. Yet the officials did.
Denver got a huge break there.
Caldwell should not be returning kicks if he can't learn to take a knee in the end zone. Late in the game, following his near fumble, Caldwell took the kickoff out of his own end zone and was nearly stopped inside his own 10-yard line.
Luckily for him, he was able to break free and turn it into a nice gain. He made a similar play in Week 6 against New York, and on that play he was tackled inside his own 10-yard line.
The Broncos have 10 days off before having to play another game. An emphasis should be placed on finding a dependable return man as well as taking a closer look at the ability of McManus.
Grade: C-
Coaching
9 of 10
The Broncos played with a more aggressive style on Thursday night. Their first five offensive plays were passing plays and they just went into attack mode against an opponent they knew would play them tough.
They also took away the things that allowed them to lose to San Diego last year. By slowing down the running game, they were better prepared to deal with Rivers on passing downs.
Denver had a good game plan and executed it well. The coaching staff should be proud of this effort.
It has also been nice to see them find a role for Juwan Thompson, a player that can contribute in several areas. It seems the coaching staff wants him involved going forward.
It was a short week, yet John Fox and his staff had the team ready to play and play at a high level.
Coaching: B+
Overall Grade
10 of 10
Quarterback: A
Running Back: B+
Wide Receiver/Tight End: A
Offensive Line: B+
Defensive Line: B
Linebackers: A+
Secondary: B-
Special Teams: C-
Coaching: B+
Overall Grade: A-
It was another satisfying performance by the Denver Broncos, who have put together a solid winning streak.
With 10 days to rest before their next game, the team has a chance to get healthy and work out some issues on special teams.
The coaching staff will soon have a difficult decision to make concerning the running back position. How does Ball fit into their plans?
"Brandon Marshall.. has been everywhere
— trey wingo (@wingoz) October 24, 2014"
Sanders will get all of the headlines, but an honorable mention goes to Marshall to receive a game ball for this one. He played extremely well on Thursday night.
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