3 Takeaways from Broncos' 34-13 Loss to Chargers in Week 17

The Denver Broncos traveled for a Week 17 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on the second day of the 2022 new year. Both AFC West teams entered the game without multiple starters due to an increased number of positive COVID-19 tests.

However, in the final analysis, it was the Bolts who continued their playoff hunt after eliminating the Broncos from postseason contention, 34-13. Although Vic Fangio has massively underperformed in his three seasons as head coach, he entered the game 4-1 all-time against the Chargers.

The bottom line is that the Orange and Blue came into its final road game severely undermanned, overwhelmed, and sadly accustomed to losing football. For the Chargers, the stars began to align for a potential postseason bid as the Los Angeles Rams led a bizarre comeback to beat the Baltimore Ravens earlier in the day, while the Tennessee Titans thrashed the Miami Dolphins.

In order for the Chargers to make the playoffs, they needed this win over Denver, plus next Sunday's season finale. Meanwhile, the Broncos continue their slide into mediocrity and have officially punched their ticket to a dead-last finish in the division in back-to-back years.

Here we go again, Broncos Country. Did we learn anything new from Fangio's latest loss?

Let’s review three takeaways from the Broncos' road finale and ninth loss of the season.

Excuses Don’t Matter, Results Do

Call me old fashioned or even the grouchy ‘get off my lawn’ guy, but I’m sick of the excuses that continue to spew out of Dove Valley for a bad and boring football team. Heck, the CBS Sports telecast even beat the drum of 2020's ugly New Orleans Saints embarrassment into everyone's head more than a year later.

Even the trivial aspect of Hinton's wristband landing in Canton should be embarrassing enough to make every Broncos fan cringe. Then there’s the fact that the team was without 13 players due to positive COVID-19 tests that resulted in many practice-squad players seeing their first game action of the season.

There’s no doubt that the heaping absence of starters affected the competitive nature of this game. The Broncos aren’t the only team dealing with the second year of the global pandemic, yet here we are trying to make sense of the team's ninth loss of the season.

Don’t forget the injury front either which is a favorite of any spin master that explains away such mediocrity. The fact of the matter is, the best QB on the team couldn’t play as Teddy Bridgewater suffered his second concussion this season and was out for the Chargers game.

Drew Lock started his second straight game in the absence of Bridgewater but he couldn’t make it through the first quarter after suffering a shoulder/arm injury on a scramble. No, you can’t plan for injuries or blame the players but passing the buck due to availability is weak.

The NFL is a results-oriented business that stops for nothing, including a pandemic. That’s why the league has yet to cancel a game and continues to march on.

For any player, coach, or staffer associated with the Broncos, I’d suggest continuing the fight to improve rather than blaming external circumstances.

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Fangio is Irresponsible with QB's Health

Quarterback is the most important in all of professional sports. That’s one of the biggest reasons why Denver has been left in NFL purgatory for the better part of half a decade.

The QB1 must be smart, courageous, and most of all, tough. But enough is enough with Fangio’s reckless penchant for putting a starting QB in harm's way.

Bridgewater almost survived the meat grinder of the new 18-week regular season. The seven-year veteran suffered two concussions this season in addition to multiple lower-leg injuries that resulted in him barely being able to walk, let alone play inspired and competent football.

On Sunday, Lock's first-quarter exit was due to an injury sustained on a scramble where Joey Bosa laid a big hit. Lock would return in the second quarter only to get flattened on a questionable call from OC Pat Shurmur.

On 4th-&-Goal from inside the 5-yard line, Shurmur opted for a cute trick play that just about re-injured Lock, who ultimately took a helmet-to-helmet hit. Running back Mike Boone was pitched the football and proceeded to toss it to Kendall Hinton on a reverse, who then threw the ball to Lock as he was getting hit (the 'Philly Special'). Lock made the shoe-string catch only to be drilled by multiple defenders far from the goal line.

To Lock’s credit, he shook off the hit and finished the game 18-of-25 for 245 yards and a garbage-time touchdown to Noah Fant late in the fourth quarter. Shurmur might be responsible for a variety of poor issues including the silly pass to Lock, but it’s Fangio who’s ultimately to blame for irresponsibly hanging his quarterback out to dry.

Lock’s time in Denver is likely coming to an end, but was his play so poor that he deserves to be thrust into a position that could cause long-term injury? I don’t think so and I can only shake my head at what feels to be a desperate move to win from a desperate head coach.

A Long Field Goal is All that Remains to Celebrate

I find myself in a bizarre realm of repetition wherein team captain and placekicker Brandon McManus is a headline from a meaningless regular-season game. Just last Sunday, I wrote about how the feud between Fangio and the only remaining player from the Broncos' Super Bowl 50 Championship has become more than an embarrassing footnote.

Both player and coach have spatted publicly over the last three seasons on everything from what should’ve been a record field goal attempt, to misses, clock management, and everything in between.

But when McManus nailed 61-yard field goal before halftime, Fangio should’ve thanked his kicker for bailing him out of a potential shutout. The impressive kick was celebrated among teammates on the field as McManus set a new career-long, besting his previous 57-yard mark set back in 2015.

Prior to setting that new benchmark, the team's longest-tenured player entered the game completing 23-of-28 field-goal tries, with one extra-point miss on the season and has been a model of consistency. McManus connected on his second field goal of the day early in the fourth quarter (23 yards) and an additional extra point.

While McManus’ new personal best is a good story and should be recognized within the franchise, it’s far from the type of feat this thirsty fan base would like to be celebrating this deep into the season. No disrespect to McManus, but when the kicker is the high point of scoring in a divisional game with (albeit dim) playoff hopes on the line, it's simply not enough of an impact for winning football.

Follow Luke on Twitter @LukePattersonLP.

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