It’s been an interesting week for the Broncos with all the fallout from the Russell Wilson saga, but on the field they managed to pull off a rather dour 16-9 win over divisional rivals the Los Angeles Chargers
While Head coach Sean Payton claimed the move was to give his offence a boost, unsurprisingly, the same old issues prevailed. However, the defence stepped up to hold the Chargers out of the end zone.
New QB Jarrett Stidham was understandably excited. “Once I got back to my locker, texted my wife just what a cool feeling it is to get my first NFL win,” said Stidham. But with that, it’s not about me. … It’s about the team getting the eighth win of the year.”
Broncos eliminated from playoff contention
Despite the win the Broncos were officially eliminated from the playoffs, and of course that was the main bone of contention over the benching of Wilson. It made no relevance on their season, just whether Wilson could theoretically get more of his salary guaranteed.
Payton tried to defend his decision to start Stidham with some bland comments, “he was collected, calm. He was efficient in and out of the huddle.”
Payton also continued to deflect the notion that he has any control of the Broncos decisions, “When the season ends, and you have questions specific to all of that — I wasn’t privy to the dialogue — but you’ll be able to ask the appropriate people,” Payton said. “Russ has been fantastic this week.”
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 17 | 16 |
| Passing 1st downs | 10 | 7 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 6 | 8 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 1 | 1 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 2-11 | 7-17 |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-2 | 1-1 |
| Total Plays | 63 | 67 |
| Total Yards | 301 | 313 |
| Total Drives | 10 | 11 |
| Yards per Play | 4.8 | 4.7 |
| Passing | 215 | 212 |
| Comp-Att | 24-38 | 20-32 |
| Yards per pass | 5.5 | 6.2 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 1-5 | 2-12 |
| Rushing | 86 | 101 |
| Rushing Attempts | 24 | 33 |
| Yards per rush | 3.6 | 3.1 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 0-1 | 0-2 |
| Penalties | 3-48 | 7-49 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 0 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 0 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 26:14 | 33:46 |
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