The Los Angeles Chargers have lost three of their previous four games, and the Broncos offense should have a clear plan of attack for them in Week 16. The Broncos are coming into this game having won four games in a row, so they have made up a ton of ground in the AFC standings. With a win tonight, they would clinch their first playoff spot since 2015.
It's been over 3,000 days since the Denver Broncos organization last experienced a playoff game, so it's long overdue. Fortunately, they are playing a banged-up and reeling Chargers team on a short week. Denver is also dealing with some injuries, but they have stayed pretty healthy for the entire season.
The team will still be without Riley Moss, but he was limited in practice this past week. Anyway, the offense and defense for LA have been struggling, and I think these late-season struggles can be attributed to this team's overall lack of depth, and their previous GM, Tom Telesco, always struggled with the depth part of the roster.
The Los Angeles Chargers have one huge defensive struggle lately
LA has been especially awful defending the run. Over their last four games, they have allowed 212, 116, 96, and 226 rushing yards. That comes out to 162 rushing yards allowed per game over the last month. That, folks, is bad. On the flip side, they have also not hit the 100-yard mark in any of their previous four games.
If the Broncos are able to establish the run with Javonte Williams and Audric Estime in Week 16 and also stop the run, LA not only won't have the ball much, but they may then be forced to abandon the run a bit, and they do not have the weapons to do that effectively. There is a clear plan of attack here for the Denver Broncos in Week 16.
It's time to hit the LA Chargers where they have been struggling. If the Broncos again aren't able to establish the run, this team will be in trouble. I tend to think they will in Week 16, as this Chargers defense is just not in a good spot right now.
And if these things go Denver's way, this game is going to go in their favor, and we could witness the Denver Broncos making the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 NFL Season, the year they won Super bowl 50. This is the plan that Denver must execute.