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| CAR at NO | CHI at HOU | CLE at PIT | DAL at PHI | DEN at SD | DET at GB | JAX at BAL | KC at CIN |
| MIA at NYJ | NE at BUF | NYG at MIN | OAK at TB | SEA at ARI | STL at ATL | TEN at IND | WAS at SF |
Week 17 Game Recap: Denver Broncos 21, San Diego Chargers 52
What you need to know
| Denver Broncos |
QB Jay Cutler looked solid at times but could never keep the momentum on his side. His receivers struggled with drops. He made one mistake forcing a ball into coverage and had another ball intercepted. He was moving around the pocket extremely well and displayed his arm strength throughout the night.
RB Tatum Bell looked strong when he got carries, amassing 26 and 37 yard touchdown runs. He looked comfortable in the blocking scheme of Denver, but never got the chance to make a continuing impact on the game because Denver had to throw the ball.
WR Brandon Marshall beat his reception mark from the previous year, ending up with 104 receptions on the year. He and Brandon Stokley each dropped passes on the night, making it tough for the offense to get going. Eddie Royal worked as the possession receiver as he racked up 11 receptions but had a bad dropped pass too.
| San Diego Chargers |
QB Philip Rivers was extremely efficient. He moved the ball with ease against Denver. He only threw the ball 20 times, but was able to come up with two touchdowns and 207 yards passing.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson had a strong showing against Denver, recording three touchdowns and coming up with 96 yards rushing. Tomlinson strained his abdomen late in the third quarter and after the game said he hoped to play next week but that they'd have to check things out. Darren Sproles had a great game also, accumulating 132 offensive yards and two touchdowns.
WR Vincent Jackson was key in the Chargers' game plan. They led off the night with a reverse to him and threw the ball downfield to him multiple times. He drew a pass interference on the opening drive and established that Denver could not put eight in the box. Antonio Gates sat most of the game with an apparent stinger.
What you ought to know
| QB Jay Cutler, Pass: 33 - 49 - 316 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 4 - 0 |
Cutler had to throw the ball often against the Chargers. He threw the ball well on most of the passes, but could not protect the ball as he tried to force the ball into traffic a couple of times. His arm was impressive as always, and he showed good pocket awareness -- often extending plays by avoiding sacks. He did suffer from some bad drops by his receivers.
| RB Tatum Bell, Rush: 8 - 86 - 2, Rec: 4 - 31 - 0 (5 targets) |
Bell looked surprisingly quick on the night, but really did not get a chance to run the ball more often due to the deficit Denver built. He hit holes fast and burst into the secondary on multiple runs, leading to two long touchdown runs. Part of this was due to great blocking but nevertheless Bell made good reads and finished on those plays.
| WR Eddie Royal, Rec: 11 - 76 - 0 (18 targets) |
Royal was targeted an eye-popping 18 times which led to 11 receptions. He only gained 76 yards, and was really targeted most of the time as the second option underneath. Still, Royal showed the ability to create space with his quickness.
| WR Brandon Marshall, Rec: 6 - 55 - 0 (12 targets) |
Marshall had a decent game, accumulating 55 yards and six receptions. Most of his receptions were medium passing routes. He blocked extremely well on the few running plays the Broncos ran, but he also had a bad drop.
| WR Brandon Stokley, Rec: 4 - 47 - 0 (7 targets) |
Stokley had a solid game serving as the third receiver for the Broncos, but really killed any chance the Broncos had of winning the game when he dropped a fourth down pass that would have been for a first down in the red zone late in the game.
| WR Darrell Jackson, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jackson came in as the fourth wide receiver on the depth chart and saw very few plays.
| TE Tony Scheffler, Rec: 5 - 75 - 1 (7 targets) |
Scheffler had a very good game against the Chargers. He racked up 75 yards and a touchdown reception that he fought for through tight single coverage.
| TE Daniel Graham, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (2 targets) |
Graham served as the backup tied end behind Tony Scheffler. He caught both passes thrown his way.
| PK Matt Prater 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 2 XP, 1 points |
Prater missed an extra point early in the first quarter.
| DEN Rush Defense |
The Broncos could not do anything against the Chargers' rushing attack. They allowed many big runs and really showed a lack of discipline.
| DEN Pass Defense |
Denver did not look good against the pass. They got burned on a couple of big plays and really did nothing to get Philip Rivers off of his game.
| QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 15 - 20 - 207 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 11 - 0 |
Rivers had a very good game. He tore apart the Denver defense and kept them off balance. He was extremely confident in the pocket and every throw he made looked crisp. Rivers ended up with only 205 yards passing, but considering it was on 20 passing attempts it proved to be a very solid performance.
| RB Darren Sproles, Rush: 14 - 115 - 1, Rec: 2 - 17 - 1 (2 targets) |
Sproles got a big chunk of playing time when the Chargers were up and Tomlinson went down with a minor injury. He looked quick against a poor defense and had a huge game. He was able to move the chains in the fourth quarter to prevent any huge comeback from the Broncos.
| RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 14 - 96 - 3 |
Tomlinson had a slight abdominal strain after the Chargers already had a big lead. Before the injury, he looked excellent against a weak rushing defense. He was cutting and weaving through the defense for the extra yards we are used to seeing from Tomlinson. He scored three touchdowns during the game.
| RB Jacob Hester, Rush: 8 - 37 - 1, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (3 targets) |
Hester served as the fullback and saw a few carries and targets out of the backfield. He got a garbage time touchdown with less than two minutes left in the game, but also showed that he could run the ball pretty well.
| WR Vincent Jackson, Rush: 2 - 30 - 0, Rec: 2 - 47 - 0 (3 targets) |
Jackson came out of the gates strong, having the first series basically designed around him. He ran a reverse for 17 yards on the first play for the Chargers, and then drew a pass interference call later that series on a deep pass. He caught his other two targets.
| WR Chris Chambers, Rec: 3 - 50 - 0 (5 targets) |
Chambers led the Chargers in receiving yards, but really took a back seat to Vincent Jackson in the game plan. Jackson only got three targets, but two of them were on deep passes and Jackson also warranted two running plays. Chambers was used more frequently underneath, however.
| WR Legedu Naanee, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Naanee served as the third receiver and caught one of the two passes thrown his way.
| TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 3 - 49 - 0 (3 targets) |
Gates left the game with an apparent minor injury, but looked solid while he was out there. He caught all three passes thrown his way and still gives opposing teams fits with his skill set.
| TE Brandon Manumaleuna, Rec: 2 - 17 - 1 (2 targets) |
Manumaleuna caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter from Rivers, but really was not utilized too often. Manumaleuna came in for Antonio Gates.
| PK Nate Kaeding 1 - 1 FG, 7 - 7 XP, 10 points |
Kaeding made seven extra points and a 28 yard field goal.
| SD Rush Defense |
San Diego looked porous against the run, allowing Tatum Bell to tear them up for two long touchdowns.
| SD Pass Defense |
The Chargers really did not stop Denver from being effective through the air. The Chargers made a couple of big plays against Jay Cutler, but still allowed 316 yards through the air. They did get a good amount of pressure against Cutler, but could not record a sack against him.
