Broncos Insider Updates Status of Two Starters Injured in L.A.
The Denver Broncos thoroughly defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 24-7 to move to 7-6 on the season and inch closer to earning a playoff berth for the first time since 2015. The story of the day should be the domination of the Broncos’ defense under Vance Joseph destroying the Chargers, but the main area to watch following the team’s first win at SoFi FIeld (in their fourth attempt) will be the injury bug.
Early in the game, the Broncos lost second-year rush linebacker Nik Bonitto, the team leader in sacks (with seven). Bonitto was escorted from the sideline tent and was carted to the locker room for further evaluation. According to Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette, Bonitto was seen leaving the stadium with a brace on his left knee.
It would not be surprising at all if Bonitto missed time down the stretch with the defense needing Baron Browning, Jonathon Cooper, Thomas Incoom, Ronnie Perkins, and Drew Sanders stepping up in Bonitto’s absence.
After Bonitto went down, the Broncos utilized Sanders at outside linebacker more with a lot of clever pressure packages utilizing off-ball linebackers and defensive backs to generate pressure, but time will tell if that is a sustainable plan going forward with Bonitto potentially missing time.
The Broncos also lost right guard Quinn Meinerz in the first half vs. L.A. Listed originally as being out with an illness, it was later reported that the Broncos’ ascending star right guard had an irregular heartbeat and was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
"Per source, Broncos RG Quinn Meinerz experienced an irregular heartbeat. Taken to hospital as a precaution. Heartbeat seems to be back under control," 9NEWS' reported.
Fortunately, Meinerz's heart rate reportedly stabilized. What that means for his immediate future on the field remains to be seen.
In Meinerz’s place, second-year offensive lineman Luke Wattenberg stepped in and played well overall. Wattenberg cannot replicate the overall power and physicality that Meinerz possesses, but the overall unit of the offensive line looked solid with Wattenberg stepping in. A commendable performance, given Wattenberg’s struggles last season when on the field.
Perhaps count Wattenberg looking substantially better this year compared to last as another feather in the cap of first year, first-time offensive line coach Zach Strief, who has done a phenomenal job with the entirety of Denver's offensive line this season with nearly every single player that was a Bronco last season taking unquestionable jumps in their level of play this season. That’s coaching.
"Source said Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz doing 'good' after going to hospital as a precautionary measure due to irregular heartbeat," Tomasson tweeted.
According to Tomasson, Meinerz is doing well now. However, the immediate and long-term status of both Bonitto and Meinerz is up in the air as Sean Payton played it coy about the status of both in the post-game press conference.
With the playoffs in sight over the final four-game stretch of the regular season, hopefully, both important injured Broncos can find their way back to the field sooner than later.
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