The Denver Broncos defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 16-9 on Sunday, but have abandoned all postseason hopes with eight losses on the season.
The win marked the first game Russell Wilson didn’t start this season and the offense didn’t perform any better.It was Jarrett Stidham who took charge against their AFC West rival on Sunday, but it was his defensive performance against an injury-plagued Chargers team that won the day.As we examine the aftermath, let’s break down the game’s biggest obstacles and difficulties. The Broncos scored a single touchdown on the day and that was thanks to a huge effort by Humphrey (with some teammates putting in a huge blocking effort on the ground) on a catch and run to score. Humphrey took an intermediate pass and snarled, stumbled and broke tackles to hit the dirt on a catch that traveled 54 yards.He had two catches that day for 69 yards (best receiver in yards) and a touchdown. The huge yards after the catch were the reason the Broncos came out victorious. After the quarterback change, there was renewed interest in Jeudy. He has been lackluster this season and many have pointed the finger at Wilson. With Stidham under center and Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims Jr. out due to injury, Jeudy was going to have a monster day. After all, it was Wilson who didn’t throw him the ball.Stidham would revive his season. However, Jeudy caught three balls for 54 yards, with his longest catch coming on a Chargers fumble. He remained so open that even Wilson could have completed the pass. Jeudy had a 12-yard reception that was called back for holding, but it was still a very quiet day for him as he was expected to deliver his best performance of the season. Singleton, a tackling machine, once again led the team in tackles. It was his 12th game with double-digit tackles (he had 11), seven of them solo.Singleton was a sure tackler against the Chargers and didn’t appear to have any of the missed tackles that bothered him earlier in the season. The defense performed solidly and Singleton led the offense. Misses: Garrett Bolles | OTDenver Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles (72) reacts after the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High. Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY SportsBolles had a bit of a difficult outing. He wasn’t bad, but he was called for a false start and a holding penalty, which hurt the Broncos’ ability to score. He also missed a few key blocks, leading to lost yardage on running plays. Bolles and teammate Ben Powers have struggled to open holes on that side of the line, even though other teams have had success creating yards on the right side of the Chargers defense all season. Overall, it wasn’t a terrible performance, but certainly a step back from what Bolles has done this season.Breeding stallion: Jaleel McLaughlin | R.B.Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3) reacts with running back Jaleel McLaughlin (38) after a game in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High. Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY SportsThe Broncos were hoping for a spark on offense and getting the ball to McLaughlin early provided them with some of what they were hoping for against the Chargers. He was the best ball carrier on the field and his volatility was evident.The rookie wasn’t used as much later in the game, but his first performance was solid. He ran for 44 yards on just eight carries and a long of 11 and added three catches for 18 more yards. McLaughlin had a solid offensive performance, although that may have been overlooked by Humphrey’s excellent play.Misses: Sean Payton | H.C.Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton in the first quarter against the New England Patriots at Empower Field at Mile High. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY SportsWe were told that Sean Payton was an offensive genius and that he would maintain the Broncos’ good offensive output this season. That didn’t happen and the assessment was that he needed a quarterback who could handle his system.Payton traded quarterbacks for Stidham, his handpicked offseason acquisition, and the Broncos’ offense continued to stutter. In fact, the performance against the injury-plagued Chargers team was worse than just two weeks ago, when L.A. he had a better team.The quarterback has been responsible all season, but perhaps Payton’s offense doesn’t work as well without Drew Brees. Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.Subscribe to Mile High Cuddle on YouTube for Daily Broncos Podcasts live!Thomas HallBy Thomas HallThomas Hall has covered Denver Broncos, the NFL and the NFL recovery at Mile High Huddle since 2018. Thomas is co-model of Mile High Inside, Podcast and Legends of Mile High. His works were presented on cbsports.com, 247sports.com and Bleacherreport.com.Follow Thomashallnfl2CommentsWebRecommended byProtective facts last week10/26 DiWay broncos on the availability of Courtland Suttonbroncos Wave on the availability of Courtland Sutton VagueThe broncos were a “complete disaster” the day before Christmas by the nfl.chroncos was a “complete disaster” at Christmas by nfl.comBroncos implode in the loss of patriots: good, bad and ugly inbroncos involve in the loss of patriots: good, bad and ugly12/29The broncos cover room is based on the Downhill Broncos broncos cover room of Russell Wilson, who adapts to the degradation of Russell Wilson in response to Russell3 keys to a broncos victory against the loads during the week 173 Broncos victory against the loaders during the week 17Russell Wilson confirms the Broncos bombs report, which threatens Himrussell Wilson, confirms the bomb report on broncos, which threatens it28/12 thu6 QBS -Broncos could aim to replace Russell Wilson6 QBS -Broncos in the projectReport: Broncos expects Russell Wilsonreport: Broncos should do Russell WilsonRussell Wilson sends a message to the Broncos after Benchingrussell Wilson sent a message to Broncos after the bank10/27Sean Payton opens why Russell Wilsonan Payton broncos openedReport: Broncos Bank QB Russell Wilsonreport: Broncos Bank QB Russell WilsonReport: Broncos threatened Russell Wilson about Contraptort:
Leave a Reply