Broncos miss running back C.J. Anderson in win over Chargers

It wasn’t pretty, but the Denver Broncos got an important division win by defeating the San Diego Chargers 27-19 on Sunday.

The Broncos were missing a few key starters in this contest due to injury. Cornerback Aqib Talib and linebacker Brandon Marshall missed the game with nagging injuries, but it was an offensive player who seemed to be the most missed by his teammates.

Running back C.J. Anderson was one of the biggest losses out for the Broncos offense. He ran for more than 100 yards in Week 7 against the Houston Texans, but he also suffered a meniscus injury that required surgery to repair.

Anderson is now on injured reserve, and it’s unclear whether or not he’ll be able to return later in the season or the postseason.

Rookie Devontae Booker got his first career start and became the first rookie running back to open a game for the Broncos since Knowshon Moreno in 2009.

He finished with only 54 yards on 19 carries (2.8 yards per carry) and one rushing touchdown. Booker also tied for the team lead with five receptions for 30 yards.

After the game, head coach Gary Kubiak was blunt in his assessment of the rushing attack.

“It was nonexistent,” Kubiak said, “I’m disappointed. I know that we were missing C.J. today, but that’s a done deal. We have to improve.”

Quarterback Trevor Siemian said after the game that offense played well despite injuries, but there was something to be missed with Anderson’s absence.

“We missed him a lot in the run game and in protections. Obviously, there’s a little bit of a drop off when you don’t have C.J. in there, but those guys (Booker and Bibbs) were really impressive with the way they handled things,” Siemian said. “I think obviously they’d tell you that they’d like to have more yards on the ground, but everybody played well out there.”

Anderson will miss at least eight weeks of games while on injuried reserve, but he can resume practicing after six weeks should the team choose him as their lone ‘designated to return’ player.

During the next seven weeks — essentially the rest of the regular season — the Broncos need to figure out how to have better success on the ground without Anderson.