SHUT DOWN AND SHUT OUT
Denver shut out for first time in 25 years; Siemian struggles Broncos fall to 3-3 with third loss in their past four games
Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian watches from the sideline as time runs down late in the fourth quarter Sunday during Denver’s 21-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. The Broncos fell to 3-3. Joe Amon, The Denver Post
CARSON, CALIF.» The Broncos needed a bounce-back to rid the sour taste in their mouths from seven days prior. They needed a fresh start with a depleted roster, and they needed a win against a divisional opponent in an unfamiliar setting.
They had to be desperate to win, as linebacker Von Miller said again and again.
But instead they turned in another head-scratching defeat that left many pounding their fists in frustration, and wondering how and why these Broncos fell so fast.
Despite a sound showing by their defense Sunday, the Broncos’ offense was virtually nonexistent and their special teams faltered in a troubling 21-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at their temporary — and small — home, the StubHub Center.
The shutout loss, described as “puzzling” and “embarrassing” by coach Vance Joseph and his players, was the team’s first since November 1992, which snapped their 394-game scoring streak, the secondlongest in NFL history.
Quarterback Trevor Siemian, a week after tossing the ball 50 times against the New York Giants, completed a
meager 25-of-35 attempts Sunday for 207 yards, zero touchdowns, a couple of near-picks and one real pick for a 74.3 rating. He was sacked five times and fumbled twice.
“I’ve got to play better,” Siemian said. “These last two weeks, I haven’t played good enough for us to win.”
But Joseph said he never considered making a change at quarterback.
“No, I did not,” he said. “He’s our quarterback. It’s a two-score game for most of the game, so why make a change when we’re still in the game? … It wasn’t simply on Trevor. It was a twoscore game, so I felt, up until five minutes to go, it was a game we could have won.”
Denver’s offense, seemingly stuck in Week 6 and missing three receivers and a starting right offensive tackle to injuries, made it to the red zone only once and often started backed up deep in its own territory.
But for much of the game, the Broncos trailed by a manageable two touchdowns because of a defense that allowed only 183 passing yards to Philip Rivers and a 25-percent third-down conversion rate by the Chargers.
The same issues that Coach Joseph preached about correcting remained problematic. Third downs? The Broncos were 3-of-14. Red zone? Zero-for-1. Turnovers? Three more, bringing their season total to 12. Takeaways? Zilch, though Denver’s defense provided its offense multiple chances to jump-start, especially early with a goal-line stand, a sack by Miller, a critical pass-breakup by defensive back Bradley Roby and suffocating pressure on Rivers.
But the offense could do nothing.
And the bad only got worse, as the Chargers, who leapt to an early 7-0 advantage on a punt returned 65 yards for a touchdown by Travis Benjamin, extended their lead to 14 points by the second quarter.
Siemian was sacked twice in second quarter, once more early in the third and twice more in the fourth. Two of those resulted in fumbles.
“We’re not blocking well. We’re not protecting well,” Joseph said. He added: “It’s puzzling. We’ve had great weeks of practice. Offensive line-wise, we’ve run the ball very well, up until two weeks ago. We’ve got to play better and coach better, obviously.”
The fruits of the Broncos’ first-half efforts were an ugly sight, and they would become horrid by game’s end. More chances gifted by the defense were more opportunities squandered by the offense and special teams.
“It’s embarrassing,” running back Jamaal Charles said. “We played poorly, like we didn’t have any talent on our team. What hurt us are turnovers, so we know we got to fix the turnovers.”
The Broncos forced a threeand-out by the Chargers to open the second half, and the punt was downed at Denver’s 1-yard line. The Broncos then couldn’t make it past their own 19, as Siemian took his third sack of the game along the way.
In what could have been a game-altering play, Demaryius Thomas gained 81 yards on a catch-and-run midway through the third quarter. A score on that drive, and the Broncos would have been back in it. A score, and the Broncos’ offense would have maybe received the spark it longed for. A score, and the Broncos would have had a fighting chance to be 4-2 instead of 3-3.
But it was called back because of an offensive pass interference penalty on Thomas.
“I was upset because it was a big play that was called back, and I don’t think it was pass interference,” Thomas said. “The refs, they did jobs and if they thought it was a penalty, I can’t do nothing about it.”
And so the same story continued. Another Siemian pass was nearly intercepted, another punt was kicked, another pass was dropped, another sack was taken, another fumble committed, another series stalled — and so on it went until Denver’s defense eventually tired from trying to hold it together.
“We obviously got some issues all the way around,” Miller said, adding: “We’ve got to get turnovers. We’ve got to create a short field for our offense. We’ve got to make plays.”
Last week, the Broncos stressed not only preventing turnovers and improving their offensive efficiency but also creating takeaways on defense. Through Week 7, they’ve yet to force a fumble, and they’ve accrued only four interceptions, well below the norm for a group that prides itself on creating game-altering plays.
“It’s hard when you can make those plays to change the game,” cornerback Chris Harris said. “That’s frustrating.”
More frustrating for the Broncos was when Benjamin tacked on touchdown No. 2, a 42-yard score in fourth quarter that put game out of reach in waning minutes. Siemian was sacked and fumbled a final time to send the Broncos packing on a troublesome path before facing the Kansas City Chiefs.
Denver’s unseemly day of work was composed of eight punts by Riley Dixon for a net average of 32.6 yards, two fumbles, one interception and a drive that ended on downs.
Denver’s defense tried, though it believes it should have done more.
But its offense disappeared somewhere during the bye week and has yet to return.
“It’s critical. It’s (a) desperate point right now,” Thomas said. “We lost our first divisional game and we’re 2-1 (in the AFC West). But as an offense, we’re not playing our best ball. And we’ve got to be better.
“The past two weeks are not us.”