4 Key Takeaways From Broncos' 31-30 Comeback Win Over Chargers
It was the worst of times. It was the best of times.
After watching the Denver Broncos' offense blunder opportunity after opportunity over the first two-and-a-half quarters, Drew Lock and company figured out a way to get things going over the last 20 minutes of the game to snatch a victory from the jaws of certain defeat.
The Broncos beat the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 in Week 8. KJ Hamler's touchdown on the last play of regulation sealed the win and marked the first score of the rookie wideout's young career.
The tale of two halves (well… three-quarters) was one that started by triggering even more concerns over Lock and his ability to be the Broncos' quarterback of the future, only to watch them all dissipate as three fourth-quarter touchdowns helped erase Los Angeles' 21-point second-half lead.
It was an incredible and much-needed victory for this Broncos' team. As a whole, the grit and determination displayed against a divisional opponent shows that this team hasn't given up the ghost, despite all of the injuries.
What did we learn? Here are my key takeaways from Week 8.
A Win Because of the Defense
Before we go into any praise for what the offense was able to accomplish in the second half, credit first should go to the Broncos defense.
Sure, the stat sheet doesn’t look impressive, but the reason Denver’s offense was able to surpass an insurmountable task was in large part thanks to what the defense was able to do. The box score doesn’t tell the tale of what happened on Sunday.
This game could have gotten incredibly out of hand in the early goings, but Justin Simmons and the Broncos' defense had other plans, picking off rookie QB Justin Herbert on the Chargers' first possession, as well as forcing a turnover on downs in the first quarter alone. It took well into the second quarter for the Chargers to get anything going offensively.
Despite L.A. scoring on back-to-back-to-back possessions to close the first half, which was punctuated by yet another touchdown drive to open the second half, Denver’s defense continued to fight and keep the team alive.
In a true bend-but-don’t-break fashion, the Broncos — bolstered by a critical Bryce Callahan interception in the end zone — gave up over 100 total yards of offense in the fourth quarter alone, but only allowed six points in the final frame. The defense's play allowed Denver to come back and win this game.
Lock Shows Resilience But Lacks Consistency
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Despite the frantic comeback, Denver’s offense was absolutely putrid for the first three-quarters of the game, and Lock was a big reason for that. His penchant for locking onto one read, then escaping the pocket and throwing the football away, was horrifyingly bad to watch.
In his 10th career start, the second-year QB finished the first half 9-for-15 for 58 yards passing, while the running game behind him only mustered a measly nine total yards. It was arguably the worst showing of the season by the offense with Lock under center.
In fact, until Phillip Lindsay sparked the offense with his 55-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, Chargers' running back Troymaine Pope had as many yards rushing (61) as the Broncos' offense did as a whole. It took a long time for the Broncos to get things figured out, but they did so when it mattered the most.
Lock finally found a groove, figuring out how to sight-adjust and trust his protection, which led the offense to touchdown drives of 80, 75, and 81 yards in the fourth quarter, making a plethora of key throws to extend drives and culminating in the aforementioned pass to Hamler to win the game walking off.
The problem is this. Where was that performance over the past three weeks?
Lock has consistently flashed of competence this season, but for the first time, they actually turned into points on the scoreboard. However, those flashes are too fleeting to be reliable enough to count on when the chips are down. He has to figure out how to be more consistent on a snap-to-snap basis and continue those flashes from game-to-game.
Jackson was a Fearsome Tone-Setter but it'll Cost Him
If there are any negatives to take away from this much-needed victory, it’s the play of safety Kareem Jackson, who appeared to be hunting heads in the second half.
His physical play over the course of his career has been incredibly fun to watch, and he is a fan-favorite here in Denver because of that. Jackson delivers huge hits and is a tremendous tackler because of his physicality but that style of play could have cost him, and the Broncos, a lot more than just a hefty fine.
On a critical drive in the fourth quarter, Jackson laid a series of huge hits while leading with his head, knocking teammate A.J. Bouye and Troymaine Pope out of the game with vicious helmet-to-helmet contact. If Jackson's hit on Pope would have been flagged, the Chargers would have had a 1st-&-10 at the Broncos' 14-yard line rather than a 3rd-&-7 at the 29-yard line.
Fortunately for the Broncos, the drive ended on the next play, forcing a 47-yard field goal from Michael Badgley, and Denver was able to keep the game within a single score. That would have been the final dagger for the Broncos, as the Chargers would have had a chance to take more time off the clock and could have potentially put a touchdown on the board, rather than settling for a field goal.
Herbert is Going to be a Problem
While Lock was struggling early on, Justin Herbert was putting on a full display of quality quarterback play. If there was any doubt that Herbert is the guy for the Chargers for the next decade-plus, they should most certainly be assuaged with his performance today.
Herbert finished the day going 29-of-43 passing for 278 yards with three touchdowns with the aforementioned interceptions by Simmons and Callahan.
But what was easily noticeable was that Herbert was poised in the pocket, able to process his reads, trusted his protection schemes, and could deliver the football on whatever platform he wanted to, including a sidearm throw for a touchdown in which he was rolling to his right side. He definitely looks the part of a franchise quarterback.
Herbert has received the short end of the stick in multiple games, as his play has gotten the Chargers out to multiple double-digit leads this season only to see them collapse. This was the fourth game that the Chargers have blown leads of 16-points or more this season.
Even with the Broncos' offense finally coming to life in the fourth quarter, Herbert led a pair of field-goal scoring drives to keep the Broncos at bay. You can’t blame him for that.
Follow Lance on Twitter @SandersonMHH and @MileHighHuddle.
