Denver Broncos outstanding offensive line depth shines vs. Chargers
The Denver Broncos offensive line depth has been tested in recent weeks, and that unit really showed out in a win vs. the Los Angeles Chargers.
To say the Denver Broncos have been tested this season in the injury department would be a massive understatement.
On both sides of the ball, the Broncos have had to deal with a wide variety of injuries, testing their depth across the board. One area of the team that has been pretty significantly tested all throughout the season? The offensive line.
Aside from Lloyd Cushenberry III at the center position, the Denver Broncos have had to find replacements for all of the starters at tackle and guard. And they have endured.
Credit is due to the Denver Broncos “replacement” offensive line
Going into the game against the Los Angeles Chargers coming out of the bye week, the Broncos were already without season-opening starters Garett Bolles, Graham Glasgow, and Bobby Massie.
As the game progressed, the team lost starting left guard Dalton Risner to a back injury and top swing tackle Calvin Anderson to a knee injury.
For the majority of this game, the Denver Broncos‘ offensive line from left to right was as follows:
- LT – Quinn Bailey
- LG – Netane Muti
- C – Lloyd Cushenberry III
- RG – Quinn Meinerz
- RT – Cam Fleming
Especially when Drew Lock was in at the quarterback position, it felt more like the late stages of a preseason game with that crew on the field than a hugely meaningful regular season game, but this unit got the job done and then some.
Quinn Bailey even received a game ball from head coach Vic Fangio after being called up from the practice squad due to Garett Bolles missing this game with a positive COVID test.
The Denver Broncos obviously didn’t go with a pass-heavy approach with this offensive line, especially after Teddy Bridgewater took a vicious hit early on in the game, but this unit did their job after a Pat Surtain II interception, helping the offense drive the ball down the field 75 yards for a touchdown that put the Broncos ahead 21-7.
The running game closed out the victory with a flawless four-minute drill in the fourth quarter, and even though the Chargers had the 32nd-ranked run defense in the league coming into this game, it was obvious that this unit — patchwork as it may be — was prepared and ready to do its job.
The performance of the offensive line against the Chargers with all but one backup on the field and down to tackles four and five is a huge credit to the coaching of Mike Munchak and assistant offensive line coach Chris Kuper.
The offensive line has been good most of the year, but considering all that went down leading up to and during this game, they were exceptional.