It goes without saying that the Denver Broncos weren’t expected to be much of a threat this season however, after winning three straight with two of those wins coming on the road, fans begin to feel a sense of hope for the team. Then the hope turns to the same feeling Bronco fans have felt pretty much every season since Super Bowl 50, dread.
On Sunday Denver hosted the Los Angeles Chargers who surprisingly have a defense stouter than Denver’s. Both teams came into the game with similar stats on defense with L.A. edging out Denver slightly.
The game was thought to be a low scoring event with both defenses matching critical stops, however, early in the game, Denver’s top cornerback Patrick Surtain II was injured on a play that sent him immediately in the concussion protocol and changed the game completely.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert took advantage of the league’s best cornerback sidelined and threw 18 completions on 26 attempts for 184 yards, compared to Denver Broncos quarterback who was a whopping 3 completions on 10 attempts for 22 yards in the first half.
It took three quarters before the Broncos opened up the passing game trailing L.A. 23-0 heading into the fourth quarter. Denver’s effort to climb back into the game came too late and offered too little. It wasn’t helpful that the Broncos turned over the ball on a fumble and interception, but Denver’s slow start on offense is becoming a concern.
Broncos QB Bo Nix had this to say about the offensive struggles in the first half, “We have to go back and watch it. We didn’t run enough plays consecutively to get into a rhythm. It was a few plays, and you were off the field. In a game like that where you know they’re going to control the ball, you have to find ways to stay on the field.” The Broncos lost to L.A. 24-16 and fall to 3-3 losing their second game at home.
This week the Broncos have a short week as they head to New Orleans on Thursday night to face Coach Sean Payton’s old team in the Saints. The Saints are currently experiencing struggles themselves coming off an embarrassing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Buccaneers 51, Saints 27).
Don’t let the Saints fool you, their two wins this season come off of blowout wins over the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys but they also lost big in last week’s game and a 26-13 loss to the Chiefs in week five. Broncos and Saints kickoff is set for 6:15 p.m. Thursday night.
In other sports the Colorado Avalanche are three games into the season with two games played at home and have yet to get a win. The Avs lost 6-2 to the Patrick Roy let Islanders on Monday night at Ball Arena, while the Denver Nuggets look to wrap up the preseason on Thursday against the Timberwolves before kicking off the regular season next Thursday at Ball Arena against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
