Broncos block late FG, beat Chargers 24-21
The rookie head coach iced the rookie kicker. Shelby Harris got a hand on Younghoe Koo’s 44-yard game-tying field goal try with a second left and the Denver Broncos began the Vance Joseph era with a 24-21 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night. “It was a little too exciting,” Von Miller said after presenting Joseph with the game ball in the jubilant locker room. “But a win is a win.” Koo nailed the kick moments earlier, but Joseph had called a timeout to ice the kicker.
“I had two timeouts and I wasn’t going to leave with those in my pocket,” Joseph said. Derek Wolfe had bull-rushed the first field goal and told Harris, a third-year journeyman who made the team largely because of a rash of injuries along the D-line, that he’d get a chance to slice through this time because the guard would lean his way. Sure enough, Harris got his right hand on the ball, which frittered short of the end zone as the Chargers looked on in dismay and the Broncos dog-piled Harris.
“It’s too bad because Koo drilled the first one,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. “And they called timeout and I think he drilled the second one, too. At least, that’s what it looked like to me because it was going right down the middle. And I think if we get to OT, we would have finished it off, but we didn’t get that chance.” Harris got the start only because Jared Crick and Zach Kerr were out with injuries.
The ending was reminiscent of last year’s opener in Denver, when the Broncos escaped with a 21-20 win over the Carolina Panthers in a Super Bowl 50 reunion when Graham Gano missed a 50-yard field goal with 4 seconds left. Denver took a 24-7 lead into the fourth quarter in this opener and the Broncos were feeling pretty good. And why not? The Chargers were 1-155 in their history when trailing by 17 or more in the fourth quarter and Denver was 175-0-1 with a fourth-quarter lead of 17 or more.
Then came a nightmarish eight-minute stretch in which they had two turnovers that were converted into touchdowns, a missed field goal and a punt. “The game was in firm control for about three quarters and we felt good but you turn the ball over twice on the short side of the 50, it’s going to be a problem with Philip Rivers,” Joseph said. Before those fourth-quarter foibles, Trevor Siemian threw two TD passes to Bennie Fowler and ran for another score.
The Broncos held Rivers to 115 yards passing through three quarters but let him engineer a comeback when Siemian threw an interception and Jamaal Charles fumbled on plays that were upheld despite video evidence that had the crowd of 76,324 convinced they should have been overturned.
Rivers threw touchdown passes to Keenan Allen and Travis Benjamin following the takeaways to make it 24-21. Back-to-back sacks of Siemian set up a 50-yard field goal try that McManus pushed wide right, giving L.A. the ball at its 40-yard line trailing by three. But Koo’s miss loomed larger in the final seconds.
VIKINGS 29, SAINTS 19
Sam Bradford threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns, and the Minnesota Vikings spoiled Adrian Peterson’s return with a 29-19 win against the New Orleans Saints on Monday night. Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs made two touchdown receptions in the first half. Bradford completed 27 of 32 passes with no turnovers. Adam Thielen caught nine passes for 157 yards, and tight end Kyle Rudolph added a touchdown reception for Minnesota (1-0).