Chargers 32 Broncos 3

Well your choice for ‘Game of the Week’ didn’t turn out to be much of a contest. The battle for the lead in the AFC West was a complete blowout as the in-form Chargers, stomped all over the sorry Broncos. The Broncos, after starting 6 – 0, now look in real trouble of not making the playoffs. But the Chargers, now on a 5 game winning streak, are one of the hottest teams in the league and are surely the favourites to take the AFC West title, again.

The talk all week leading up to this game was around who would start at QB for the Broncos. In the end it looked like Kyle Orton was not fit as McDaniels started Chris Simms. But after a poor start to the game, completing 2 of 4 throws, for 10 yards, McDaniels pulled Simms and put in the hobbling Orton. This decision was the first of many strange calls by the Broncos, calls that I can only describe as desperate. The Broncos first drive of the game looked very impressive, as Knowshon Moreno ran the Broncos into the red zone, before Simms was hit, fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Steve Gregory for the Chargers. Gregory actually got another recovered fumble in the red zone later in the game. Another blow was handed to the Broncos early as safety Brian Dawkins had to leave the game with a neck injury. This obviously didn’t help this defence, as the Chargers (ranked last in rush offence before the game) ran for 203 yards, behind LT’s 73 yards and a TD. LT really looks to be getting better week by week, and this is great news for the Chargers as they will not have to rely so heavily on QB Phillip Rivers.

The major turning point of this game came in the 3rd quarter. The Broncos had just scored a FG to cut the Chargers lead to 13 – 3. For some reason McDaniels decided to call for an onside kick, which was recovered by WR Legedu Naanee at the Broncos 41 yard line. The Chargers used that field position to get a quick TD from LT, which gave them a commanding 20 – 3 lead. This coupled with the fact the Broncos being unsuccessful in 4 red zone trips, ultimately sealed their fate.

This was a huge statement game for the Chargers, who once again look to have recovered from a bad start to the season. The rest of the AFC will now be on red alert for the Chargers, who will hope they can take this form deep into the playoffs, they certainly have the talent.