Broncos Prepare For Shaun Phillips, Rest Of Chargers Defense

San Diego Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips (right) and linebacker Donald Butler (56) celebrate after a stop during the first quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Qualcomm Stadium. (Christopher Hanewinckel-US PRESSWIRE)

The Denver Broncos go up against a San Diego Chargers defense that has been creating turnovers all over the place through five games. The Bolts have six interceptions and four recovered fumbles through five games.

“They play a lot of guys which speaks to their depth, which is impressive,” Peyton Manning said. “They’re flying around. They play fast. They’ve got a mix of some veteran guys along with some new young guys they brought in through the draft and free agency. They’re playing well on defense. They really should have won the game last week. I know they’ll be ready for this division game.”

When Manning speaks of the ‘veteran guys,’ you can’t help but think of linebacker Shaun Phillips. Phillips has been tormenting the Broncos twice per year for the last nine years. He’ll get a sack and then let the Broncos know about it for the rest of the game.

Thus far, Phillips has 4.5 sacks this season. He’s on pace for a career-high in that department.

“He’s an active guy, he’s versatile, he’s an excellent pass rusher, but he’s not limited to just rushing the passer,” Manning said. “He drops in coverage and moves around. They do a good job of moving him around which speaks to his versatility. (He’s a) tall lanky guy, can bat balls, so a good player.”

It’s not just Phillips attacking the ball, however. Five other Chargers have at least one sack.

At a time when the Broncos are 29th in the league in turnover margin (-6), this Chargers defense looks threatening.

A major key to winning the game is for the Broncos to take care of the ball, and make some game-changing plays on defense. Let the Broncos be heard on defense rather than just Phillips running his mouth.

Make sure to follow Predominantly Orange on Facebook and on Twitter.