As the San Diego Chargers finally showed signs of a dominant offense, en route to their third win last week against the Miami Dolphins, the Denver Broncos traveled to Lambeau Field to test their progress against the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. While the scoreboard indicated a blowout, the Broncos did make some plays to indicate that they’re improving and are on the right track to being able to compete with good teams.
They’ll get another chance to test their mettle against the rival Chargers, who are 8-2 against the Broncos under quarterback Philip Rivers. In their last meeting, Tim Tebow nearly led a comeback that fell just short after the Chargers scored on five consecutive possessions. The Broncos will have to put forth a better defensive effort this time around, and despite giving up 42 points to Green Bay, they have better pieces on the defense now than they did then.
As these AFC west division rivals clash in a contest of intense dislike for the opponent and a fervent desire to win, here are three things in particular we will be focusing our attention on.
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1) A repeat performance for Ryan Mathews?
This year, Ryan Mathews has demonstrated the kind of skills that convinced the Chargers to draft him in the first round as a replacement for LaDanian Tomlinson. While he didn’t play particularly well, one of the lone bright spots in Mathews’ rookie season was the last game of the season against Denver. In that game, Mathews picked up 120 yards on the ground and scored three times. Now that he’s adjusting to the NFL and displaying his abilities consistently, will Mathews perform an encore? Tomlinson absolutely dismantled the Broncos multiple times in his Chargers career, and the last thing the Broncos want to see is another elite running back who steps his game up every time he plays them. Mathews isn’t quite in that stratosphere yet, but you can bet the Broncos will be giving their all to limit Mathews’ production and show him that he won’t be able to run all over them consistently. How this battle of wills plays out will certainly be one of the more entertaining aspects of this game.
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2) Linebacker Von Miller vs. Right Tackle Jeromey Clary
As if we don’t talk about Von Miller enough in the Re-Focused articles, he’s now sneaking into the previews as well! Last week, the Broncos set Miller loose to rush the passer for the first time all year, lining him up at left end 27 times with another four snaps at defensive end in a three man line. The result? Two sacks, a hit, and five additional pressures on Aaron Rodgers. Jeromey Clary hasn’t had the greatest start to his 2011 season, and could be in for a long day if the Broncos again deploy Miller at defensive end frequently. The sixth-year right tackle has all the motivation in the world to play well, as his performance thus far is worthy of a benching if it continues to be the norm for him.
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3)Secondary in name, but not a secondary concern
While the Denver defense can be somewhat excused due to the absence of left cornerback Champ Bailey, if the rest of the secondary plays as it did last week, the Broncos will likely find themselves in a deep hole in this one as well. The Chargers aren’t quite as stacked on offense as the Packers, but they are still one of the best in the league, and though they will likely once again be without tight end Antonio Gates, receivers Malcolm Floyd and Vincent Jackson are more than capable of carrying the load. Bailey is expected to make his return this week, so we’ll be keeping an eye on how effective he looks, as will Rivers, who would be pleased as can be to have an injured cornerback to pick on all game. Rahim Moore will look to bounce back from his first game graded in the red (-2.1) although the job doesn’t get much easier against the Chargers’ offense.
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