The Denver Broncos held a narrow lead in the first half, but put themselves in a hole with a terrible third quarter on both sides of the ball. They rallied, helped mostly by incredible defensive effort, in the fourth quarter to beat the Los Angeles Chargers.
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There were times during that game when it felt like Denver would find a way to lose it and the offense is definitely still trying to figure out its own identity. However,
the defense rediscovered its pass rush identity in the final quarter and made Justin Herbert’s life impossible.
At 3-2, the Broncos are now tied with the Las Vegas Raiders for second place behind the 4-0 Kansas City Chiefs and face a short week hosting the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football in just a few days from now.
Here’s who we’re giving our game balls to:
Nik Bonitto
Casa Bonitto was open for business on Sunday. Bonitto showed up and showed out for the Broncos. The Denver edge rusher led the team with two sacks. Bonitto also finished with four tackles (three solo), three tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits. Helluva game for Bonitto. – Ian St. Clair
Brandon Jones
Brandon Jones gets my game ball this week. He secured a fumble, broke up 2 passes, and got a key interception to help lead the defense to victory. With Hufanga out he really dialed in and made the plays needed to help get his team the win. – Sadaraine
Ja’Quan McMillian
The Broncos were missing two of their three starting CBs, but the one who was healthy, Ja’Quan McMillian, played one heck of a game. He had five tackles, one TFL, one pressure, and one sack. That sack was on the final play of the game. Instead of rushing two or three and dropping everyone into coverage, Vance Joseph, sent five rushers and one of them was McMillan who has always been amazingly effective when asked to blitz. He had four sacks last season and got his first of this season in spectacular fashion. – Joe Mahoney
J.K. Dobbins
How effective the Broncos’ run game will be is a mystery every week, and a decent game from the running backs tends to be an anomaly, so when there is a bright spot, it must be highlighted. JK Dobbins was this week’s running back “hero,” (a stretch, yes) tallying 68 yards and a rushing touchdown that helped get the Broncos off to a fast(er) start than they have all season. Although the yards per carry wasn’t phenomenal at 3.8, Dobbins kept at it to find some good holes so the run game could at least contribute. – Laurie Lattimore-Volkmann
Que Robinson
Robinson’s tackle of Justin Herbert on a 4th and 1 ended up being the game-changing momentum shift moment that led to the Broncos victory.
After the turnover on downs, the Broncos would score a touchdown and go on a 13-0 run and win the game. Momentum shifted in their favor late and they did not look back. – Scotty Payne
Broncos’ Pass Rush
I had to give my game ball to the entire front seven, especially in the fourth quarter. The lack of consistent pass rush has been one of my primary complaints on this defense to start the season. By all metrics it was either middle of the pack or even dead last in some categories. Outside of Bonitto, it was looking like more of the same through much of the game, but the whole defense went crazy in the fourth quarter and won that game for Denver. Hats off to the entire unit! – Tim Lynch
