Orange Colored Glasses: and here we are again
“The notion of the mighty Broncos being beaten the AFC’s sixth-seed, coached by the Denver’s conservative former coordinator, the very man many folks blame for the Baltimore loss, seems utterly ridiculous – even though Mike McCoy and company beat the Broncos at Mile High just one month ago.”
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One year ago today Broncos Country was excitedly anticipating the divisional round of the AFC playoffs. On January 6th, 2013 the fourth-seeded Baltimore Ravens dispatched the Indianapolis Colts in the Wildcard round, earning themselves a trip to Denver to face the top seeded Broncos. Our fans were oozing with confidence, even looking beyond the Ravens to what seemed like an inevitable tilt with the Patriots in the AFC Championship game the following weekend. But a funny thing happened on the way to that meeting with the Pats. The Broncos lost to Baltimore 38-35 in overtime on a too-frigid night at Mile High and were eliminated in the divisional round. The defeat was among the most crushing in the history of Colorado sports.
And here we are again.
One year later the same fan base that failed to take Baltimore seriously is now scoffing at the San Diego Chargers. The notion of the mighty Broncos being beaten the AFC’s sixth-seed, coached by the Denver’s conservative former coordinator, the very man many folks blame for the Baltimore loss, seems utterly ridiculous – even though Mike McCoy and company beat the Broncos at Mile High just one month ago. Only the most cautious of Denver fans seem not to be looking past San Diego.
Besides the Broncos. the Chargers have beaten some tough teams this season. They prevailed in match-ups with the Eagles and the Colts and they even swept a Chiefs team that won an impressive eleven games. But they also had some stunning losses. While achieving their 9-7 mark for the regular season the dropped games to such also-rans as the Texans, Titans, Redskins and Raiders – teams that combined hardly have more wins than the Broncos themselves do.
San Diego ranks fifth among NFL teams (four spots behind the Broncos) in offensive yards per game and twelfth (eleven spots behind the Broncos) in points scored. Defensively the Chargers allowed the tenth most yards per game during the regular season but allowed relatively little scoring, 21.6 points per game to Denver’s 24.9. Statistically, San Diego is a fine team but in terms of consistency they were lousy this season.
The tact that Mike McCoy seems to have taken – particularly over the past several weeks – is to use the Chargers running game to dominate time of possession and to squeeze the life out of opponents by limiting their opportunities on offense. The Chargers lay in wait and capitalize when their opponents make mistakes. That’s how San Diego beat Denver on Thursday night a month ago and it’s how they beat the Bengals on Wildcard Sunday.
San Diego should be an easy out for the Broncos at 2:40 next Sunday afternoon. The weather, which was so crummy last year, should be beautiful. Denver will Wes Welker in the lineup (which is a luxury they could have used when they needed seven yards on third down against the Ravens).
The Broncos will be rested and ready and as healthy as they have been in weeks. Based on their typical offensive output they should have no trouble posting four or five touchdowns. Even if the Broncos play poorly on defense it’s doubtful that the Chargers can keep pace. All the Broncos need to do in order to secure a trip to the Championship game is not turn the ball over multiple times.
Hosting the Chargers is the path of least resistance. Some fans claim that they would rather the Broncos have hosted the Colts but that’s ridiculous. Robert Mathis’ pass rush is reason enough to be glad that Patriots drew Indy instead – and that’s not to mention Andrew Luck and his hot streak. This gives us the best possible opportunity to make it to the next round and have a shot at a Super Bowl.
Should we overlook the Chargers? Probably not. We should be smart enough fans to know better – especially after what happened last year. But it’s safe to say that the Broncos are a far, far better team. There’s no reason they shouldn’t dismantle San Diego and leave Philip Rivers to slowly tighten his bolo tie as he trudges mournfully down the hallway at Mile High on Sunday evening.
