The Denver Broncos took care of business in what turned out to be a defensive blowout of the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18. With the AFC’s one seed now secured, the Broncos will enjoy a bye week and host the lowest seeded team in the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
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The narrative around this game will be one that is critical of Bo Nix and the offense and rightly so. They had three red zone opportunities that ended inside the 10-yard line and could not close
the deal on Sunday. What could have 21-points ended up just 9, so the game was much closer than it should have been. That is something they will need to clean up if they hope to challenge for a Super Bowl title in a few weeks. Defensively, however, they dominated all game long and their two turnovers accounts for 10 of the Broncos 19 total points.
Here are Mile High Report’s game balls for the Broncos’ 19-3 victory against the Chargers in Week 18.
Nik Bonitto
It’s good to see Nik Bonitto getting warmed up before the playoffs. He got his first sack and then some since early December. The Broncos’ pass rush has been somewhat quiet over the last month, so seeing them get back on track right before the playoffs is just what I needed to see. The defense was dominant all game long and that was needed too. Sure it was against Trey Lance, but this defense had been making backup quarterbacks look good at times. Not on Sunday, though! I was tempted to go with Pat Surtain II here, but that strip-sack by Bonitto was what finally put this game away. – Tim Lynch
Jaleel McLaughlin
While he only got six carries, he gained 41 yards in those six carries. I fail to understand how he is not RB1 since he seems to have much better vision than RJ Harvey. While he doesn’t have the same shiftiness, he always seems to get 4+ yards per carry. It would be great to get JK Dobbins back for the playoffs, but absent that, I would like to see JM get the majority of the carries since he has been the best RB the Broncos have since JK went down. He has 18 carries for 118 yards over the last three games while Harvey has 36 carries for 121 – twice the carries and only 3 more yards. – Joe Mahoney
Wil Lutz
The Broncos weren’t able to score any touchdowns on offense. That’s the bad news. The good news? Kicker Wil Lutz was able to drill all four of his field goal attempts. Way to go, Lutz! – Chris Hart
Ja’Quan McMillian
Ja’Quan McMillian gets my game ball this week. The game was on early when he intercepted a tipped pass and housed it for the only touchdown of the game. McMillian is a streaky player at times, but he has big-play capability. He straight-up looked like a running back following his blockers downfield to get the ball in the end zone. Chris Harris, Jr. would be proud. – Sadaraine
Justin Strnad
Justin Strnad had 8 total tackles against the Chargers, and in some of the biggest moments he made some of the biggest plays. His sack of Trey Lance in the 3rd quarter was just one of his big plays that made life miserable for the backup quarterback. He had a TFL, and a PD. His play in the 3rd quarter helped keep the Chargers offense from gaining momentum in the second half. – Adam Malnati
Sean Payton
For the first time in a decade, the Broncos have the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home-field advantage through the AFC playoffs. And it’s all because of Payton. The Broncos head coach has completely changed the culture of this franchise and has them in the playoffs for the second year in a row. With the win over the Chargers, Payton gets the game ball for where this team is and what’s in front of it. He now has them two home wins away from the Super Bowl. – Ian St. Clair
AFC’s One Seed
My game ball isn’t going to a specific player, it’s going to the accomplishment they achieved this season. They finished the year 14-3, the second time in franchise history where they won 14 games, won the AFC West for the first time since 2015, and now have home field throughout the postseason.
While the doubters may say they’ll be one and done, the road to the Super Bowl goes through Mile High and Broncos Country.
The Broncos are back where they belong, haters be damned. – Scotty Payne
