Broncos Seek First AFC West Win vs. Chargers

The Denver Broncos are looking for their first AFC West win of the season against San Diego and trying to improve to 6-2 on the season.

As they prepare for what they hope will be their first win of the season against an AFC West opponent, the Denver Broncos had one of their best moments of the season last Monday.

The Broncos routed the Houston Texans 27-9 Monday and ran for 190 yards. However, one of the stars of that game, tailback CJ Anderson, tore his meniscus and was lost for the season.

The good news is that while Anderson ran for 107 yards in the win, fellow tailback Devontae Booker added 83 more rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

Beyond this, Saturday the Broncos announced a key move from the practice squad with another tailback.

Thompson has been essential to the Broncos ever since he came to them as an undrafted free agent in 2014 out of Duke. In his first two seasons with the squad, he had 396 yards from scrimmage and three rushing touchdowns.

This past training camp, he was cut before the start of the season but the Broncos were blessed to be able to retain him on the practice squad.

With Anderson’s injury, the Broncos realized that Thompson was the man for the job. This is because of his previous success and knowledge of head coach Gary Kubiak’s game plan.

Meanwhile, signal-caller Trevor Siemian continues to excel as well for the Broncos. He has completed 63.6 percent of his passes (112 of 176) on the season for 8 touchdowns and three interceptions.

He has not thrown any interceptions since a Week 2 34-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts and has won five of his first six starts. Oddly enough, that loss came against San Diego on October 13 at San Diego, the Broncos’ opponent on Sunday.

This is why, despite the fact the Broncos are 5-2, you can say this is a must-win game for them. It is not in the Broncos’ best interests to go to 0-2 in the AFC West.

If the Broncos do lose Sunday, they would lose out on several potential tie-breakers down the stretch which no one wants. They also have a tough game at Oakland against the Raiders the following week.

Interestingly, this is also the Broncos’ last home game for almost a month. They won’t be in Denver again until November 27 against Kansas City after this one.

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While the Broncos’ offense has been discussed, it’s important for the passing defense to contain Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

Rivers is in the Top 10 in many NFL passing categories. These include passing yards, passing touchdowns and passer rating, among others.

While the Broncos’ defense against the pass is the best in the NFL (175.0 yards per game), they also have to be aware of tailback Melvin Gordon.

For San Diego, Gordon, the second-year back out of Wisconsin, has been doing some big things.

With a defense featuring the likes of linebacker Von Miller and improving nose tackle Sylvester Williams, however, the Broncos should be in good shape if they execute.

On Wednesday, both teams had lots of players on their injury reports, but by Friday this had diminished.

Meanwhile, the weather will also be spectacular. Kickoff temperatures are expected to be 77 degrees under partly cloudy skies and will be near 74 degrees in the 4th Quarter.

As always, this is your game thread. If any Chargers fans happen upon us, treat them kindly: the Broncos way. GO BRONCOS!!!