Postgame Cold Snacks: Fortune finally smiles on Broncos

CARSON, Calif. — This time, the Broncos had enough of a cushion to withstand a rally.

This time, the giveaway with a 14-point lead wasn’t the snowball that became an avalanche.

This time, the turnover in the red zone didn’t lead to a quick score … instead, it led to an end-zone interception for linebacker Alexander Johnson.

In the Broncos’ 20-13 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, the tables turned.

And it started with some changes on the defensive line.

D-LINE CHANGES PAY OFF

It was a matter of getting the right people in the right spots.

Shelby Harris, listed on the roster at 290 pounds but actually 310 — as he reminded media after the game — had his ups and downs through the first four games. But the push he can generate working between the guard and tackle is valuable.

Mike Purcell, listed at 328 pounds and with past familiarity in Fangio’s scheme from his days with the 49ers, is the most ideal nose tackle on the roster.

Sunday, the Broncos fit those pieces together, and had their best game in terms of generating interior push. It didn’t result in a sack — mainly because Philip Rivers was willing to take the incompletion rather than eat the ball for a sack — but pressure led to a slew of incompletions and little room for Chargers running back Melvin Gordon, who averaged just 2.6 yards per carry in his return to action following a holdout.

With Purcell playing for the first time since Week 1, Adam Gotsis was inactive. Gotsis had played in 52 consecutive games since the Broncos drafted him prior to Sunday.

Based on how the defense played Sunday, holding the Chargers offense to a pair of field goals and just 246 yards from scrimmage, Purcell and Harris might be at their new spots to stay.

“I wanted to get Mike Purcell up, because the best thing Mike does is play the run,” Fangio said. “So one of those guys had to go down as inactive, and Bill and I discussed it, and we chose Adam this week. It doesn’t mean it has to be that way all the time.”

But after holding the Chargers to just 35 rushing yards and 2.2 yards per attempt, it’s something Fangio must think about with Derrick Henry and the Titans looming for the Broncos next week.

A FRIGHTENING MOMENT FOR DE’VANTE BAUSBY

Dignity Health Sports Park fell silent early in the second quarter when Bausby was knocked out on a helmet-to-helmet collision with linebacker Alexander Johnson.

Bausby was taken to a local hospital after the hit, but had feeling in his extremities, according to Broncos public relations.

“The news up to this point is positive,” Fangio said.

In the wake of the injury, the Broncos inserted Isaac Yiadom at cornerback, giving him his first extended defensive work since Bausby replaced Yiadom at Green Bay two weeks earlier.

But Yiadom committed two holding penalties, leading Fangio to insert Davontae Harris in his place at the start of the second half. Rivers threw at Harris on two consecutive plays to open the Chargers’ second drive of the third quarter. Harris was later flagged for pass interference, setting up a Chargers field goal.

QUICK BITES:

• With a 191-35 advantage in rushing yards, the Broncos had their biggest single-game rushing advantage since Dec. 30, 2014, when they had a 173-yard rushing edge over the Kansas City Chiefs (214 yards to 41) during a 29-16 win at Arrowhead Stadium. The Broncos are now 43-2 all-time when they outrush their foe by at least 150 yards.
• When the Broncos took a 17-0 second-quarter lead, it gave them their first lead of three scores since they held a 21-3 third-quarter advantage on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13 of last year. Not coincidentally, that was the Broncos’ last regular-season win before Sunday.
• Denver moved to 79-3 all-time when having a lead of 17 or more points after halftime, including 38-1 since 1996.
• This marked the third consecutive game in which the Broncos have intercepted Rivers twice. Three of his five multi-interception games the last two years have come against the Broncos.
• The Broncos’ 122 yards in penalties represented their highest penalty-yardage total since Dec. 20, 2015 at Pittsburgh (127 yards). The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Broncos when they had at least 100 penalty yards.