Three things the Broncos must do to beat the Chargers on Sunday

The Broncos are back on the road this week as they travel to play division rival Chargers on Sunday. After the drubbing the Broncos took against the Bills in Week 15, it would be nice for them to get back on the winning track to close out the regular season.

Both teams have a 5-9 record, but it seems like they’re going in different directions – mainly due to the quarterback position. While Drew Lock is struggling and playing most weeks like one of the worst quarterbacks in the league, Chargers starter Justin Herbert looks like he has superstar potential.

Broncos head coach Vic Fangio likes what he’s seen from Herbert.

“Herbert’s having a great season. (I’m) very, very impressed with him — big arm, big body, fast, strong in the pocket, hard to get down, has really run their offense with a great command. I think their offensive coaches have done a good job bringing him along. He’s been very, very impressive,” Fangio said.

This could be a win for the Broncos. Do they have enough to make it a big win? Here are three things the Broncos must do to beat the Chargers.

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Stay Away from CHJ

Drew Lock needs to stop turning the ball over. In every start he’s had this year, except for Week 1 against the Titans, Lock has had at least one interception or fumble – and in some games, he’s had both. Against the Bills last week, Lock had a fumble that was recovered and returned for a touchdown. That play helped rally Buffalo to the huge victory, and the same thing could happen this week against the Chargers.

The Chargers defense has great talent on all three levels, but they have a former Broncos player in the secondary who could ruin Lock’s day. That is veteran cornerback Chris Harris Jr. The Broncos let Harris hit the open market in the offseason and the Chargers scooped him up. Harris didn’t play in the first game earlier this season against the Broncos due to injury, but he’s back and showed his impact last week with an interception against the Raiders.

Harris knows Lock after practicing against him last year. I’m sure he would love nothing more than to get a game-changing play against his former team. Lock knows what he’s facing in Harris and how that will be more dangerous with him on the field.

“Anytime you add Chris to the mix, your defense gets better. That’s what we’re going to have to deal with. They’ve been playing a little different, a couple things here and there that we’ll have to adjust to, but it’s going to come down to me knowing what we’re going into this week — knowing my reads, where to get the balls if the first couple reads aren’t open, me taking care of the ball, and us establishing the run game. It’s the same thing every week. It’s us taking care of the ball, finding completions, moving the chains, establishing a run game, and I’ll say it again, taking care of the ball. If we do that, we’ll keep progressing as an offense and find ourselves in a situation at the end of games to win,” Lock said.

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Bounce Back on Defense

The Bills offense was able to do whatever they wanted to against the Broncos. This week, the Chargers are going to bring quite a bit to the field and their playmakers will provide complications for the Denver defense. The Bills have some fine skill position players, but if healthy one could say the Chargers have more talent on that side of the ball.

For just the receiving weapons, guys like wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams can produce like the best in the league. Again, when healthy, Allen and Williams bring skill sets to the field that are tough to go up against. Allen is a great route-runner and has no problem getting open even when he’s double covered. Williams has a great size/speed combination and plays with great “my ball” mentality. Allen is battling a hamstring injury and Williams is battling a back injury, so they may not play up to their potential.

This opens up things for other players in the wide receiver room like Tyron Johnson and Jalen Guyton. Both second-year players, Johnson was a highly recruited high school prospect and one of the best prep players in the country. He landed at Oklahoma State, but he didn’t do much in his collegiate career. He’s now thriving with the Chargers due to opportunities created by the injuries to Allen and Williams. Guyton has world-class speed and that’s shown by his big-play ability and 18.7 yards per catch average in 2020.

Herbert is the ringleader of the offense and does not hesitate to get the ball to all of his weapons. He regularly distributes the ball across the field and doesn’t lean on one weapon. Instead, Herbert takes what the defense gives him on most snaps and then will take some deep shots when they’re set up.
Broncos safety Kareem Jackson knows the challenges of facing Herbert.

“He’s extremely talented with great arm strength and can make every throw. He’s the leader of that offense, and he’s getting them in the calls that they need to be in and he’s going to the right places with the ball. Those challenges are still the same to this day. Just watching him the last few games, he’s still doing the same things—strong arm and he’s made some great throws. They’ve been able to get some quality wins. For us, it’s all about us executing. We have to go out and do what we do on defense. Our last showing is not what we want to display, so we have to have to have a great week of practice so we can go out and put on a better showing,” Jackson said.

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Texas Coloradoan

Phillip Lindsay won’t be on the field Sunday, as the Broncos placed him on Injured Reserve on Saturday, but another Colorado-born running back will be. The Chargers feature Eaton’s very own Austin Ekeler, and he’s one of the most dangerous receiving backs in the NFL.

Ekeler played his college ball in Colorado, as well, at Western State in Gunnison. The Chargers picked him up as an undrafted free agent and Ekeler has worked diligently to become a Pro Bowl-caliber player. Ekeler began his career as a backup player to Melvin Gordon. He was originally thought of as a receiving back or change-of-pace back. Over the years, Gordon failed to impress while Ekeler showed he can be a lead back.

The Broncos have their hands full guarding Ekeler as a runner or receiver out of the backfield. They really need to watch out for Ekeler on “Texas” routes. These type of routes are when the back runs from the backfield towards the sideline, covered by a linebacker, only to break back in towards the middle of the field when the defender commits to the outside. Ekeler has incredible quickness and can get open with ease on these type of routes. Broncos defenders Josey Jewell or Alexander Johnson are going to be attacked by Ekeler on Sunday.

Fangio appreciates the type of playmaker that Ekeler is.

“He brings a lot. He’s a great back, he’s very versatile, he’s a good runner obviously when they hand it off to him. He’s a really good receiver out of the backfield both running routes or getting screens and check downs. He’s elusive, he’s hard to tackle in the open field, he’s a great, great back. They chose to keep him over Melvin, so that tells you how they feel about him,” Fangio said.

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