PLAYER NOTES
–RB Phillip Lindsay will have surgery on his right wrist and will likely be put on injured reserve, head coach Vance Joseph said. Lindsay will need at least three months to recover and will miss the Pro Bowl in January. He finishes the season with 1,037 yards rushing and is the sixth Denver rookie to break the 1,000-yard mark and the first since Clinton Portis in 2002.
–WR Andre Holmes is dealing with an ankle injury and did not practice on Wednesday.
–CB Brendan Langley didn’t practice due to a concussion and has not yet passed the protocol, head coach Vance Joseph said. His status for Sunday’s game in unknown.
–WR Courtland Sutton’s 679 yards receiving rank fourth all-time among Broncos rookies. He needs 60 yards in the last game to move into second place behind Eddie Royal, who had 980 yards receiving in 2008.
–TE Matt LaCosse was limited in practice Wednesday with an ankle injury.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: RB Royce Freeman was expected to be the bellwether of Denver’s backfield when he was taken in the third round of the 2018 draft. While Freeman has had a solid rookie season with 461 yards, he was overshadowed by the play of undrafted rookie Phillip Lindsay. Lindsay suffered a season-ending wrist injury in last week’s loss to Oakland so expect Freeman to get plenty of work. He started the season well with 71 yards rushing in the opener but that remains his single-game high. An ankle injury suffered in a win over Arizona on Oct. 18 cost him two games and he has carried the ball just 42 times in the last six games. Denver will need him to be the workhorse in the backfield, but the Chargers have the ninth-ranked rushing defense in the NFL, so yards could be hard to come by Sunday.
GAME PLAN: Denver quarterback Case Keenum needs to find some success against L.A.’s secondary, but it won’t be easy. The Chargers allow opponents 223.9 yards passing, which ranks seventh in the NFL. Los Angeles doesn’t get to the quarterback as much and they rank 21st in the NFL in takeaways with 16, so if the Broncos offense can establish a running game and hold onto the ball they could find success. This is a game where Keenum must find some kind of rhythm to keep the ball away from the Chargers’ potent offense.
Defensively, Denver has some challenges against veteran quarterback Philip Rivers. Running back Melvin Gordon is back after missing a couple of games with sprained knee and gives Rivers another big weapon to use. The Broncos’ rushers will need to get to Rivers quickly to take pressure off the banged-up secondary. Rivers isn’t a mobile quarterback, but he goes through his progressions fast and makes the right play. Denver’s challenge is to rush him into poor decisions.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Chargers RB Melvin Gordon poses a tough challenge for Denver because he is a dual threat. He has missed four games this season but leads the team in rushing with 843 yards and has 47 receptions for 466 more yards. Denver’s linebackers will have a tough time keeping up with the speedy running back, who can break off a big run or take a pass in the flat and gain big yards. The defenders will need to keep him in front to limit the damage he can do once he gets the ball.
–Offensively the Broncos must find success downfield against L.A.’s secondary. The Chargers have 12 interceptions this season, which is 16th in the NFL, so if quarterback Case Keenum doesn’t try to force any passes he can find success. It will be up to Denver’s young receivers to make plays and for running back Royce Freeman to find running room. The loss of Phillip Lindsay hurts because he is a good runner and an underrated receiver. Freeman isn’t the receiver that Lindsay is so running Devontae Booker, who is a reliable receiver, could see more time in the backfield.
