Three observations from the Broncos loss to the Chargers in Week 17

The Denver Broncos are out of playoff contention after losing to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17 by a score of 34-13. The game was not as close as the score indicated, and the score was not close. It seemed like the Broncos checked out on both sides of the ball in a game where they could still have kept their playoff hopes alive. Instead, they lose to a division rival and now only have one game remaining in the 2021 season.

After the game, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio discussed the way the team’s performance has declined as the season has gone on.

“It is very disappointing. We had three difficult losses prior to this one, all tight games against good teams. It is disappointing,” Fangio said.

Here are the top-three observations from the Broncos-Chargers game.

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Stay Frosty

The Broncos had a COVID outbreak during the week, and they were missing so many key players on both sides of the ball. Around a dozen players missed the game against the Chargers, including starters like Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy, Baron Browning and Bradley Chubb.

COVID is raging through the NFL at this time, and almost every team in the league is dealing with some sort of outbreak at varying levels. The league is around 90 percent vaccinated, but the new Omicron variant is incredibly transmissible to those who have taken the shots and those who have not. The Broncos were not able to avoid the outbreak after playing against the Las Vegas Raiders last week, who then had an outbreak on their team after the game.

During the game broadcast, the announcers proclaimed that Fangio told them the motto for the Broncos was “stay frosty” with so many players down with COVID. Regular listeners to “Nick and Cecil” know that I use the term “stay frosty” to wrap up every show. It’s a military term that means “be cautious and look out for danger.”

It’s my nod to the Armed Forces every day. Fangio was using it as an actual warning for his players to stay safe during the latest stages of the global pandemic.

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Don’t Blame Lock

Drew Lock did not play a perfect game. However, nobody out there should be blaming him for the embarrassing loss on Sunday. Lock went 18-of-25 passing for 245 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions. There were a couple of passes that were dropped interceptions, but the Chargers defense didn’t get them, so they don’t count. Overall, Lock looked fine.

He was even knocked out of the contest against the Chargers with a shoulder injury. Lock missed one series where third-string quarterback Brett Rypien didn’t do much. To the surprise of some, Lock returned the next series and seemed fine.

Lock still has poor mechanics. Lock still reads plays late, and that usually leads to turnovers whether that’s in the form of errant passes or fumbles forced because he doesn’t feel the rush bearing down on him. Against the Chargers, Lock was playing “yolo” ball and was leaving it all on the field.

After the game, Fangio complimented Lock on his performance.

“I thought he had some good throws and made some good reads. We cannot seem to find a rhythm and a consistency in our offense to keep our drives sustained, or make first downs to eventually get us touchdowns,” Fangio said.

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Special Teams Gaffes

The Broncos special teams is generally bad most weeks. They were terrible on Sunday against the Chargers. Special teams coordinator Tom McMahon has been lucky to keep his job this long, and he won’t be employed by the team much longer after yet another bad game by his unit.

As aforementioned, this was a breakdown by most of the team. The offense struggled, the defense struggled, and the special teams might have struggled the most. All three phases of the game looked bad for the Broncos, and that led to the Chargers getting the easy win.

Return man Diontae Spencer muffed a kick which led to the Chargers recovering the ball. Later in the game, the Chargers return man Andre Roberts was able to use his blazing speed to run by the Broncos special teams on his way to a 101-yard touchdown.

“Obviously, we need to cover them better. The kick on the second one put us at a deficit early, but we need to find out how to not let it go the whole way. No excuses, we need to play with what we got. We need to figure out how to cover kicks better,” Fangio said.

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