Playing the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked offenses back-to-back in a five day stretch is the perfect recipe to lose two in a row. Denver was embarrassed Thursday night at the hands of rival San Diego 21-13 to snap their 15-game road division winning streak, an NFL record.
With the Orange & Blue now looking up at the Oakland Raiders in the AFC West, things are looking dark at the moment. Fortunately for Denver, these three stars could still shine brightly even in an ugly loss.
Von Miller
If there is one Bronco you can always count on, it’s Von Miller.
Miller recorded his lone sack on the night when he was able to get to veteran Philip Rivers midway through the second quarter. Miller now has seven on the season and a half-sack more than Lorenzo Alexander of the Buffalo Bills for most in the NFL.
With the sack Thursday night, No. 58 now has a takedown is seven straight games, the longest streak of his career and is tied for third-longest in Denver Broncos history.
Trevor Siemian
Trevor Siemian literally had two completely different halves Thursday night.
Siemian was welcomed back to the starting role and was not shy about airing it out to prove he was healthy: going 30-50 for 230-yards and one touchdown. Most of these yards came in the second half, seeing as Denver did not cross the 50-yard line until late in the third quarter.
“We had a lot of self-inflicted wounds. Those are tough to overcome. We didn’t make the most of our opportunities early in the game,” Siemian said when asked about the adjustments. “I think we showed a lot of resilience there at the end but it was a little too late for us.”
Riley Dixon
When you cannot seem to find an offensive rhythm, it’s such a relief that you can count on your punter. Riley Dixon, Denver’s seventh-round draft pick in 2016, edged out veteran Britton Colquitt during training camp and is the only punter on the roster.
Dixon has punted the ball away 18 times in the last three games, including five times for a total of 221-yards in the loss to San Diego. With a total of 1310-yards on the 2016 campaign, it is easy to see what John Elway saw in the rookie all those months ago.
