Evaluating whose stock is up and whose is down for the Denver Broncos after their pivotal AFC West win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Sunday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers had quite the dramatic swing of implications for the Denver Broncos.
With a loss, the Broncos essentially could kiss any playoff hopes goodbye, as they would only fall further behind in a playoff race where multiple teams vying over a Wild Card spot owned a tie-breaker over Denver.
With a win, the Broncos would find themselves with an opportunity to compete for first place meeting up with the Kansas City Chiefs.
It was make-or-break for the Denver Broncos, and they capitalized under pressure, defeating the Los Angeles Chargers in a decisive 28-13 victory that keeps the Broncos’ playoff hopes alive. A huge loss by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns boosted the Broncos’ standing in the Wild Card race.
Of course, there is a lot of season left. However, if for just this week only, the Broncos saw their playoff dreams continue, and that is a huge win considering how tumultuous the 2021 season has been thus far.
Of course, there were performances that changed the game or had the potential to. The Predominantly Orange stock report is back, with plenty of good news for this week.
Let’s get to the report.
Denver Broncos Stock Up after Chargers win
Pat Shurmur, Offensive Coordinator
Why not start the stock report with perhaps one of the most surprising swings of the 2021 season? A week ago, I never would have forecasted that I would be commending Pat Shurmur’s performance, but here we are. I am happy to be wrong in this instance.
Though it certainly was not a perfect game called by Shurmur, he finally seemed to be able to get out of his own way and made the decision to commit to the run game, something Broncos Country has desperately implored Shurmur to do all season long.
After an embarrassing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Shurmur’s seat may have felt as if it was on fire. Though it is still certainly warm, Shurmur may have been able to take a little heat off of himself, even if just temporarily.
While this game was not absent of questionable calls by the offensive coordinator, he finally allowed himself to commit to something that was working, and even successfully got creative with his play-calling, something we don’t see often.
Realistically, the Broncos’ offense has been predictable this season– run, run, throw short of the sticks, and punt.
In this matchup, we saw Shurmur successfully open up the playbook and allow his running backs to capitalize against a weak Chargers’ run defense.
If you’re still not convinced that Shurmur actually called a decent game, here are a couple of statistics to consider: The Broncos finished 8-11 on third down and were 3/3 in the red zone.
Of course, Shurmur has a LOT of work to do in the remainder of 2021 if he wishes to be employed after the season. But for this week, he has managed to stop the bleeding.
Denver Broncos stock up after Chargers win: Patrick Surtain II, CB
In case, you needed a reminder:
Patrick Surtain had the most dominant performance by a member of the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Surtain also made a bid for Defensive Rookie of the Year on Sunday, finishing the game with two interceptions on Justin Herbert, one for a pick-six that would seal the victory for the Denver Broncos.
A draft pick that was once heavily criticized by Broncos Country has proven numerous times this season that George Paton knew what he was doing when he made the unpopular choice to pass on a quarterback and draft a cornerback, a position the Broncos were already considered to be pretty loaded at with the free agency acquisitions of Kyle Fuller and Ronald Darby.
However, injuries quickly shook up the secondary, and with Kyle Fuller’s struggles to adapt to the defense, it became evident early on that Surtain would see starting action almost immediately. Surtain came as advertised, showing an astoundingly quick adjustment to playing at a professional level.
If Surtain can maintain the tenacity and energy he is already bringing to the field week in and week out, it will not take him long to establish himself as a franchise player for the Denver Broncos.
Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon
Finally, after a long time waiting, the runningbacks room were the stars of the show on Sunday afternoon. Between rookie Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon, facing his old team, the two backs finished the day with a combined 31 carries and 137 rush yards, averaging about 4.4 yards a carry. Javonte Williams also had one of the team’s touchdowns on the day.
Though these stats may not seem overly sexy, it is important to keep in mind that the runningbacks typically do not receive this kind of workload from offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. All too often, Shurmur goes away from the run game entirely when it is not successful immediately.
On Sunday, Shurmur gave his running back room an opportunity to show what they can do, and they did not disappoint.
Though Gordon surpassed Williams in rush yards and had a successful day against his former team, Javonte Williams continues to prove that he has the capability to be a consistent RB1. If you are familiar with Good Morning Football’s “Angry Runs” segment, then you know that Javonte Williams is royalty in the eyes of Kyle Brandt.
Williams’ style of play is the definition of running angry, and Broncos Country is here for it.
Denver Broncos stock down: Vic Fangio, head coach
Despite an impressive win from the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Vic Fangio continues to make some baffling decisions. We know clock management has never been Fangio’s strong suit, but what has seemingly become his biggest flaw is his itch to throw challenge flags at inopportune times, or, realistically, instances where he has no chance of winning the challenge.
Overall, the failed challenge against the Chargers did not harm Denver in the long run. However, in a much closer game, poor judgment to essentially waste a challenge flag could have bit the team in a much harsher way.
Even in a fantastic team win, it continues to be of concern that Fangio is well into his third season as an NFL head coach, and seems to be making no progress on understanding when and where to use challenge flags, or even when to call timeouts.
Truthfully, this season has been very up and down for coach Fangio. Fangio went from being a favorite to be one of the first head coaches fired in 2021, to a favorite on the betting lines for Coach of The Year, and back to the hot seat. Fangio still has time to turn things around, but a big part of that is understanding when to challenge a play, and when to understand losing a timeout is not worth the risk.
Drew Lock
Broncos Country finally got their request to see Drew Lock again, though not in the way they would have hoped. Drew Lock came into the game in the first half to replace an injured Teddy Bridgewater.
Fans have been demanding to see Drew Lock back in action, though not at the expense of a Bridgewater injury–fans had just hoped the team would make the executive decision to start Lock over Bridgewater. However, after his short outing against the Chargers Sunday, barring another Teddy injury, we may not see Lock take another snap in 2021.
Although throwing just seven passes and completing 4, Lock finished his outing with just 26 pass yards and a QBR of 0.2, an interception setting up a Chargers score also going against Lock. Of course, Lock is sure to be rusty–this is the first game action he has seen since 10/3 against the Ravens.
Denver Broncos studs and duds: Baron Browning shines in big win
The Denver Broncos got a huge victory at home coming out of the bye week over the Los Angeles Chargers. Who stood out in this game whether good or bad?
Nonetheless, in Lock’s short time on the field, he was responsible for two turnovers, which obviously does not bode well for the young quarterback, and doesn’t exactly increase confidence we will see him in a starting role anytime soon.