Here’s your stupid Broncos / Chargers prediction
“The script for tonight’s match-up would seem to call for a close, high scoring game. The over / under is the highest of the week, according to the Vegas books, at 55.5 points.
Take the under.”
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It’s hard to believe that there are only three games left in the Broncos’ “extended pre-season”. Time flies. It seems like only yesterday that Broncos Country was anticipating the year. Now it’s almost over; yet, oddly, we seem to have more questions about our two-loss team than we did before the very first game.
Peyton Manning addressed one of our questions last week when he played almost flawlessly on a frigid Mile High day. Can Manning play in the cold? Check.
With the Chargers coming to town for the Thursday nighter, it’s time for the Denver defense to provide some answers. San Diego offers a significantly greater challenge than the Titans did in terms of offensive effectiveness. The Chargers can score.
The script for tonight’s match-up would seem to call for a close, high scoring game. The over / under is the highest of the week, according to the Vegas books, at 55.5 points.
Take the under.
The Broncos have plowed through this season by putting up massive days offensively – and, with Manning only five TD passes away from tying Tom Brady’s record of fifty in a season it would be logical to predict that Denver will light up the scoreboard yet again. Instead I foresee a somewhat pedestrian day for Manning and company (by their standards, anyway). I see the Denver offense scoring 31 points – 17 of those in the third quarter – with Manning tossing “only” three TD passes.
That will be more than enough to secure another Broncos’ win thanks to what the defense does tonight. Let’s just say that Jack Del Rio’s stock as an NFL head coaching candidate is going to get a boost.
Philip Rivers is known for having good days and bad days. This will be a bad day for him. The Broncos are actually going to get pressure on a passer for once. while Rivers will have some success in the screen game (Danny Woodhead will have 100 yards receiving) he will not have many chances to throw deep. He will be sacked four times and pressured constantly. He will also turn the ball over twice on interceptions and once on a fumble. Denver’s secondary will quiet its doubters tonight in much the same way Peyton Manning did last week.
Like the Titans, San Diego will be competitive in the first half and awful in the second. They’ll manage 14 first half points and only three in a second half during which the Broncos dominate time of possession.
The Broncos will win tonight 31-17 in a fashion that we have not yet seen them win – with stifling defense. The stories in the paper tomorrow will be about the improvement they showed and how they look more ready to tackle the playoffs than we might have suspected.
