The Denver Broncos will take their 4-1 record on the road in a Thursday Night Football matchup against the 1-4 San Diego Chargers.
In a classic AFC West matchup, the Denver Broncos will take their show on the road to face the San Diego Chargers on Thursday night. Both teams are coming off losses in Week 5, and will be looking to get back on the winning track. The Chargers have been a dumpster fire this season, while the Broncos are once again one of the better teams in the AFC.
Last week, the Broncos were without their starting quarterback, as Trevor Siemian was nursing a sprained AC joint in his non-throwing shoulder. The second-year quarterback out of Northwestern won the starting job over Mark Sanchez and rookie Paxton Lynch during the preseason, and has looked very good early on. Lynch got the start against Atlanta last week, but was highly ineffective in the team’s first loss of the season.
Denver saw their record drop to 4-1, while suffering a rare loss at home. The loss moved them into a tie with the Oakland Raiders for first place in the AFC West, after the Raiders beat the Chargers on Sunday at home. San Diego found a way to lose a game late for the fourth time this season, and could be saying farewell to head coach Mike McCoy very soon. The Chargers are 1-4 on the young season, and are on the verge of letting another year slip away.
The only bright spot for San Diego last week was the fact that they finally got their 2016 first round draft pick back on the field. Former Ohio State star Joey Bosa made his season debut for the Bolts, and made an immediate impact on the defense. Bosa racked up two sacks in the game, and showed the kind of power and quickness that made him a high pick in last year’s draft.
Odds
Line: Den (-3.5)
Over/Under: 45.5
Denver took a punch in the mouth last week, as the red-hot Atlanta Falcons made their usually tough defense look like swiss cheese at times. Playing without Siemian turned out to be a bigger issue than most expected, as he was seen as just a placeholder for Lynch. Siemian has become the leader of the Broncos offense, and the team should get an added boost with him back on the field.
San Diego is just not good this season, and no matter how well Philip Rivers plays, the team just cannot get in the win column. They did win their home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2, but that has been the only game they have closed out this year. A botched field goal hold led to the loss last week, as the Bolts have begun to find new ways to blow games.
Next: Every NFL Team's Biggest Draft Whiff Of All-Time
The Denver Broncos are on another level than the Chargers, who are desperately looking to turn their season around. With Siemian back, the Broncos offense should get back to normal, and will find easy sledding against a very bad San Diego defense. Bosa was able to do some nice things on the defensive side last week, but the Broncos should have a solid game plan for him on Thursday night.
San Diego is going to move the ball on offense, but they are not going to be able to score many points against the Broncos. Denver has an elite defense, and they are going to be able to get to Rivers and force mistakes. Chargers running back Melvin Gordon has been a turnover machine, so expect at least one out of him this week. Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak will not coach on Thursday due to health issues, so expect Denver to be fired up to get a W for their coach.
Broncos should win this one by a touchdown.
Pick: Broncos 28, Chargers 21