Stidham was okay, Payton got his way and Cooper made some hay

The Denver Broncos got back on the winning track this New Year’s Eve. They beat the Los Angeles Chargers at home by a score of 16-9. Now, the Broncos have an 8-8 record, but they are out of the playoff hunt.

The Broncos started QB Jarrett Stidham for the first time in place of Russell Wilson. Stidham’s performance was uneven at best, but he got the job done. With a win next week against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Broncos could finish above .500 which shows progress.

After the game, Broncos HC Sean Payton was happy to come out on top.

“Obviously, a good win to get, (a) hard-fought win. I thought our defense played extremely well. We had one takeaway. We stopped them on a fake punt. They kind of stopped themselves on a fake punt, but anyway. Offensively, we did enough but the penalties — the two false starts on the one-yard line — we can get that cleaned up. That was frustrating but we made enough plays—third down (conversions). Obviously, we had the explosive play to Lil’Jordan (Humphrey). It was a good team win.” Payton said.

Here are three observations from the Broncos win over the Chargers in Week 17.

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Stidham Just Okay

This game was all about Stidham. This week was full of controversy, but benching Wilson was something Payton had been considering for some time. He liked what he saw from Stidham last year when he started two games for the Raiders, and that’s why he signed him this offseason.

Stidham has the full confidence of his head coach, but fans were anxious to see what the combination looked like on the football field. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great. I thought Payton would flex his muscles offensively with the passing game now that Wilson was on the bench. He set it up, but Stidham did not knock it down.

The new starter finished with 224 yards passing and one passing touchdown. There was more to be had out there, but Stidham looked rusty when it came to making passes. Several of his throws were merely off the mark even though his receivers were open. Better chemistry comes with time and repitition, so we’ll see if Stidham can be more efficient and more effective in the season finale.

Payton seemed pleased with what Stidham did on Sunday afternoon.

“I thought he was good. I thought he was collected, calm. I thought he played with really good poise. He felt experienced relative to a guy who hasn’t had as many minutes maybe as some others. You certainly didn’t feel that during the course of the game. I thought he was efficient in and out of the huddle. I thought he made some good throws for us overall until I see the tape. I thought it went pretty good.” Payton said.

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Payton’s Offense Returns

Statistically, Stidham didn’t do much more than most would’ve projected Wilson to do. However, he was doing something Wilson did not do effectively – run Payton’s offense.

We had not seen much from the passing game with Wilson. Instead of spreading the ball around and making full-field reads/throws, Wilson stuck to short passes or deep passes. He did not throw intermediate passes, and Wilson rarely went to the middle of the field. Because of his limitations, throws to the middle of the field were out of the question – even though receivers were getting open on such routes.

Against the Chargers, Payton was able to have those guys hit with passes by Stidham. Jerry Jeudy had success on slant routes and crossing routes – something he rarely if ever did with Wilson throwing him the ball. Lil Jordan Humphrey scored on a big play for the Broncos that happened on an in-breaking route. It was great after the catch, but the route to the inside set things up for the big play.

Payton highlighted Humphrey’s in-breaking route that led to the big play and the score.

“It’s a dig route (with) a couple of ins. ‘LJ’ and then outside I think Brandon (Johnson), so there’s a progression to it. They kind of had this Double-A mug (look) and they brought their really good safety off the weak slot, so we kind of pushed the protection out. If you watch that play and you guys will at some point I hope, watch (Michael) Burton in the pickup. There’s times when we bring him on just from a physicality standpoint. He does a great job of picking up the A-gap pressure player, and it doesn’t seem like a lot, but what it did was allow ‘Stiddy’ to have a pocket to kind of climb. If you don’t get that pressure while it’s in the gap, then it’s a lot more difficult and the play doesn’t happen. I’d say (that) block was important. The (offensive) line did a good job of picking it up.” Payton said.

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More Sacks

Broncos football has often been associated with playing great defense. Throughout the years, so many Broncos greats have gotten after the quarterback. Most recently, fans will fondly remember the play of Von Miller. Since Miller left, Denver’s defense has not been as dominant when it comes to rushing the passer.

That could be changing with the play of edge rusher Jonathon Coooper. With a sack of Chargers QB Easton Stick, Cooper has 8.5 sacks so far this season. With one game left to go, there’s a chance that Cooper hits double-digit numbers in 2023.

It may come as a surprise to some, but 8.5 sacks is the most by any Broncos defender over the last five seasons. Things have been lean when it comes to sacks, but Cooper is leading the way with even more approaching on the horizon.

After the game, Cooper talked about having the most sacks of any Bronco since 2018.

“It means a lot. I feel like with my teammates and coaches believing in me and the type of player that I am. I feel like my goal for this season was eight or 10 (sacks). I’m trying to get to double digits, trying to get to that ten mark. I’m going to keep rocking. Keep going. I’m really happy for myself but I’m more happy with these wins that we’re getting. Any way I can help the team win is what I’m trying to do.” Cooper said.

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