THE Denver Broncos searching for a quarterback to take control dates to Peyton Manning’s retirement in 2016.
Brock Osweiler was the heir apparent but bolted for Houston, and the next few years were littered with options who failed to permanently win the job.
The Chargers erased that issue as Justin Herbert has not only secured the No. 1 job in Los Angeles, he is quickly emerging as one of the better quarterbacks in the National Football League (NFL). He’s coming off a career game in a win over Pittsburgh last Sunday and now faces a stout pass defense when the Chargers visit Denver on Sunday.
Herbert had 382 passing yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 90 more in the 41-37 win over the Steelers. Things might be tougher against the Broncos, who boast the ninth-best passing defense in the NFL entering Week 12, but the Chargers enter the matchup as 2.5-point favorites.
Denver’s defense gets a boost as standout linebacker Bradley Chubb was activated off injured reserve on Saturday. He had surgery on his left ankle after the second game of the season and returned to practice this week.
Denver (5-5) could be without left tackle Garrett Bolles for a third straight game. He missed the last two with an ankle injury but tested positive for the coronavirus coming out the bye week. He needs two negative tests before Sunday to be able to play.
The Broncos activated guard Austin Schlottmann for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) reserve list and signed guard Zack Johnson to the practice squad. Sunday’s game will also be the first time Fangio will coach against his former assistant Brandon Staley. Fangio was the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears when he hired Staley to be his outside linebackers coach in 2017. They were together for three seasons, with the last with Denver in 2019. — Reuters