Clayton: Chargers will challenge Broncos on Thanksgiving weekend
Nov 23, 2021, 4:56 PM
Thanksgiving is for family, food and friends. In the NFL this Thanksgiving weekend, get ready for an NFL feast.
An NFL record nine games feature teams with .500 or better records. In the past, the NFL used to feature a Tom Brady-Peyton Manning game in November close to Thanksgiving. It was one of the featured matchups annually.
This year, in what is considered the greatest year for NFL parity, it just so happens that Week 12 is an absolute blast. There have been 23 games decided on the final drive.
What will be interesting is to see what happens in the AFC West, where all the teams are .500 or better. A couple weeks ago, the Kansas City Chiefs were struggling and had dropped to fourth place in the division standings. They have won their last couple games and lead the division at 7-4.
It will be a critical game for the Broncos. They face the Los Angeles Chargers. The game is in Denver, and the Broncos haven’t played great at home. The timing of the game might not be the best for the Broncos because of one player. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is coming off perhaps the best game of his young career. Herbert put up 41 points in a thrilling 41-37 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He past for 382 yards and ran for 90.
This will be an interesting test for the Broncos defense. The Broncos have a top-flight secondary, but it will be challenged. They will have to find a way to put pressure on Herbert and slow down the Chargers running attack. Aside from Herbert running for 90, running back Austin Ekeler had 115 yards of total offense. He scored four touchdowns.
This one won’t be easy for the Broncos, who don’t want to fall to 5-6.
