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The Denver Broncos lost to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday afternoon, 29-24. Tim Tebow almost pulled off the comeback victory.
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Denver Broncos head coach John Fox has two weeks to decide who his starting quarterback will be against the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 23. After weeks of being adamant that Kyle Orton gave the Broncos the best chance to win, he changed course during halftime against the San Diego Chargers and inserted Tim Tebow into the lineup. While the Broncos lost, 29-24, Tebow did provide a spark that Orton had been unable to in previous weeks.
However, after the game comments from Fox reveal, at least publicly, that the coach has not settled on his starting quarterback going forward. Lindsay Jones of the Denver Post reports that Fox said, "It will all be up for discussion." As for when he will decide who will start, Fox gave a curt reply (via the Denver Post): "Kind of when we decide [...]." Fans, don't rush Fox to a decision, but he will likely take the bye week before announcing his starting quarterback.
For more on the Broncos, check out Mile High Report.
The Denver Broncos are now 1-4 on the season with a 29-24 loss to the San Diego Chargers. The big news from this game was that Kyle Orton was benched as the team's starting quarterback in second half and replaced by Tim Tebow. It almost worked, as Tebow hit Knowshon Moreno on a short pass that turned into a 28-yard touchdown run. It brought the game to 26-24. Unfortunately for the Broncos, Brandon Lloyd failed to come up with a Tebow pass, leaving it a two-point game.
Tebow later had one final chance with 24 seconds left on the clock. He hit Brandon Lloyd for a 20-yard gain, but needed a review to overturn the call. Tebow followed that up with a 31-yard pass to Daniel Fells before the ball was spiked. Tebow attempted a Hail Mary pass on the final play, but he wound up running all around on the play before he had an incompletion to end the game.
As we've known all along, this team is a bad one all around and Tim Tebow is not going to be an immediate (or even long-term) panacea. He did look much more energetic out there, but he finished just 4-of-10 for 79 yards. His first reception was a zero-yard gain by Eric Decker. Kyle Orton, by contrast, was 6-of-13 for 34 yards. Tebow had 38 yards rushing.
The offense was awful for most of entire game. After a first down early in the second quarter, the Broncos didn't have another one until Willis McGahee had a 12-yard run in the fourth quarter. McGahee was one of the lone bright spots on the offense, picking up 125 yards on 16 carries.
The Broncos, 1-4, have a bye next week before they face the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 23.
For more on the Chargers head over to Bolts From the Blue. For more on the Broncos, check out Mile High Report. Follow the rest of Week 5 of the regular season at SB Nation NFL.
Tim Tebow has brought the Denver Broncos much closer to the San Diego Chargers by rushing for a 12-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Tebow's struggled passing, but now John Fox and Mike McCoy have seen that they are playing to Tebow's strength as a scrambler. More running plays are being called for the second-year player.
Tebow's scoring drive also featured an 11-yard run by the quarterback, but it was Willis McGahee who started things off. He rushed for 28 yards on the first play of the drive.
The Chargers are lucky this game. They should be up by more than eight points against such a bad Broncos team.
For more on the Chargers head over to Bolts From the Blue. For more on the Broncos, check out Mile High Report. Follow the rest of Week 5 of the regular season at SB Nation NFL.
Apparently Denver Broncos head coach John Fox has finally seen enough from Kyle Orton. Tim Tebow has started the second half as the team's quarterback. Kyle Orton had a quarterback rating of 21 in the first half and most certainly was not providing the team with the best chance to win.
On Tebow's first drive, he handed the ball off to Willis McGahee on the first two plays and then threw short zero-yard pass to Eric Decker.
There is some sense that John Fox has made a permanent change at quarterback with the benching. As far what was announced, Orton has been benched for the second half of the game and that is it. But expect the wheels to spin.
For more on the Chargers head over to Bolts From the Blue. For more on the Broncos, check out Mile High Report. Follow the rest of Week 5 of the regular season at SB Nation NFL.
The Denver Broncos looked as though they were very much alive against the San Diego Chargers when they were losing by six points, 16-10. The Broncos defense has been stout in the red zone, allowing three Nick Novak field goals and a two-yard Philip Rivers touchdown run. But then with seconds left on the clock and the ball on Denver's 42-yard line, Philip Rivers found Malcom Floyd for a touchdown strike, Floyd's first of the year, and the 23-10 lead. Cassius Vaughn was burned on the play--bad karma after his earlier 55-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The Broncos offense has been non-existent for the most part. Willis McGahee has 74 yards on nine carries, but most of that came in the first quarter. San Diego has 276 total offensive yards to Denver's 109. Kyle Orton is just 6-of-13 for 34 yards and one interception. He didn't throw a completion to a wide receiver (Eric Decker) until nearly the end of the first half.
The Broncos walked off the field to boos.
For more on the Chargers head over to Bolts From the Blue. For more on the Broncos, check out Mile High Report. Follow the rest of Week 5 of the regular season at SB Nation NFL.
The Denver Broncos saw their 10-6 lead evaporate when San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers ran two yards for a touchdown and the 13-10 lead. That drive, though, broke down into a mess and almost resulted in a huge brawl.
The drive ignited when Philip Rivers hit Kory Sperry for a 32-yard gain, burning rookie Von Miller on the play. The Chargers received an extra 15 yards after that because Robert Ayers was flagged for roughing the passer. With the ball at the Broncos' 27-yard line, Jacob Hester had two rushes to bring the ball to the 16-yard line. But after the second play, a big brouhaha broke out and flags started flying. Elvis Dumervil and Marcus McNeill each received an unnecessary roughness penalty. They offset each other and there were no ejections.
Rivers punched the ball in on 3rd-and-2 for the Chargers 13-10 lead.
For more on the Chargers head over to Bolts From the Blue. For more on the Broncos, check out Mile High Report. Follow the rest of Week 5 of the regular season at SB Nation NFL.
The Denver Broncos can't seem to escape injuries this season. Safety Brian Dawkins practiced earlier in the week with a hurt ankle and was questionable for the game. He was left active on Sunday and started, but he left the game with a neck injury and was questionable to return. He took a D.J. Williams knee to the neck on a passing play that he broke up.
The Chargers have also had injuries creep up on them. Running back Ryan Mathews left the game with a calf strain and was listed as questionable to return. Mike Tolbert took over for Mathews, but he also left the game for a few plays.
Both were seen on the sidelines, but now word yet if they will play again.
For more on the Chargers head over to Bolts From the Blue. For more on the Broncos, check out Mile High Report. Follow the rest of Week 5 of the regular season at SB Nation NFL.
The San Diego Chargers offense continues to run all over the Denver Broncos, but all they have to show for it are two field goals. The Broncos hold a 10-6 lead in the second quarter. Ryan Mathews has seven carries for 60 yards and Mike Tolbert picked up 24 yards on four carries.
The Broncos started the next drive with less than a minute left in the game. After a couple of plays ended the quarter, head coach John Fox sent out Tim Tebow to open the second quarter. This time around, Tebow picked up two yards on the running play from the shotgun formation.
In better news, Willis McGahee has 71 rushing yards on eight carries. However, the Broncos weren't able to punch the ball into the end zone on that drive and settled for a Matt Prater 35-yard field goal.
For more on the Chargers head over to Bolts From the Blue. For more on the Broncos, check out Mile High Report. Follow the rest of Week 5 of the regular season at SB Nation NFL.
Denver Broncos cornerback Cassius Vaughn came up with Philip Rivers' seventh interception of the season midway through the first quarter and returned it for a 55-yard touhdown, putting the Broncos in the lead, 7-3. This came just a couple of plays after Kyle Orton had thrown an interception on a play when he was going to be tackled and was looking to force something.
The San Diego Chargers scored first in their game with the Denver Broncos, but they had to settle for a Nick Novak 24-yard field goal. Running back Ryan Mathews had four carries for 22 yards, but was unable to break the goal line when the ball was within the 10-yard line. Quarterback Philip Rivers had a key pass to Mike Tolbert for a 17-yard gain, but starting on their own 48-yard line helped the Chargers with the score.
Willis McGahee had a 25-yard run before Orton's interception.
For more on the Chargers head over to Bolts From the Blue. For more on the Broncos, check out Mile High Report. Follow the rest of Week 5 of the regular season at SB Nation NFL.
The Denver Broncos might had an issue at safety if Brian Dawkins wasn't ready to play on Sunday, but his ankle is feeling well enough that the Broncos have kept him active for Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers. The only real surprise on the Broncos' inactive list is cornerback Jonathan Wilhite. He was ill all week and was listed as questionable. The Broncos will need to install someone else as the blitzing cornerback and Champ Bailey is going to be back in the lineup.
For the Chargers, tight end Antonio Gates leads the team's inactives, but this was expected. He likely won't return for a couple of more weeks. Now the Broncos will need to contend just with Vincent Jackson catching passes from Philip Rivers.
For more on the Chargers head over to Bolts From the Blue. For more on the Broncos, check out Mile High Report. Follow the rest of Week 5 of the regular season at SB Nation NFL.
The Denver Broncos return Champ Bailey to the lineup. He will likely cover Vincent Jackson for most of the game.
The Denver Broncos take on the San Diego Chargers at Mile High on Sunday. This could be a do-or-die game for the Broncos, who would fall to 1-4 with a loss.
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The San Diego Chargers' Friday injury report offered no real surprises. After missing the first two days of practice, wide receiver Vincent Jackson returned to practice and is probable for the game. Chargers head coach Norv Turner believes Jackson should play at least 22 snaps against the Broncos, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Jackson battled an abdominal injury last week and then injured his hamstring while attempting to compensate for that.
Also probable for the game are cornerback Quentin Jammer and center Nick Hardwick. They each missed a day of practice but were on the practice field on Friday.
Tight end Antonio Gates is still dealing with a foot injury and is doubtful for the game. For most of the week, it's been thought that Gates would miss this game. Defensive ends Luis Castillo and Jacques Cesaire are out for the game, as expected.
For more on the Broncos, visit Mile High Report. Bolts from the Blue is the place to go for more on the Chargers.
On Friday, the Denver Broncos' injury report was, as usual, a mix of the good and the bad. Cornerback Champ Bailey, along with Knowshon Moreno, Rahim Moore and Marcus Thomas, are reported as probable for the game. Bailey has missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury and was listed as questionable against the Packers last week. He didn't want to come back until he was fully healthy, which is why he was inactive for that game.
Bailey's presence on the field will help immensely for when he covers Vincent Jackson, one of the top receiving threats in the league. Jackson, battling abdominal and hamstring injuries, missed the first two days of practice, but he did see the field on Friday. However, his status for Sunday has yet to be unveiled.
Safety Brian Dawkins is dealing with an ankle injury, making him questionable along with Jonathan Wilhite and Daniel Fells for Sunday. As expected Demaryius and Julius Thomas and Eddie Royal are out for the game.
For more on the Broncos, visit Mile High Report. Bolts from the Blue is the place to go for more on the Chargers.
Both the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers are missing key players during this week's practice sessions, For the Denver Broncos, safety Brian Dawkins missed his second straight day of practice with an ankle injury. Fellow starting safety Rahim Moore appeared on the day's injury report with an illness. Jonathan Wilhite is still battling his illness for a second day.
The only player who missed practice the other day and returned was tight end Daniel Fells, who was dealing with a knee injury. He did, however, have just limited participation. Cornerback Champ Bailey had a full practice for the second straight day and should finally return to the field this Sunday.
As for the Chargers, wide receiver Vincent Jackson and tight end Antonio Gates missed practice. Gates is not expected to return for another few weeks, but Jackson appears to have injured his hamstring while compensating for his abdominal injury. Cornerback Quentin Jammer practiced on Wednesday, but missed Thursday's session.
Here is the complete Broncos injury report:
| Name | Pos. | Injury | Wed. | Thu. |
| Champ Bailey | CB | Hamstring | FP | FP |
| Brian Dawkins | S | Ankle | DNP | DNP |
| Daniel Fells | TE | Knee | DNP | LP |
| Rahim Moore | S | Illness | - | DNP |
| Knowshon Moreno | RB | Hamstring | FP | FP |
| Eddie Royal | WR | Groin | DNP | DNP |
| Marcus Thomas | DT | Groin | FP | FP |
| Julius Thomas | TE | Ankle | DNP | DNP |
| Demaryius Thomas | WR | Finger | DNP | DNP |
| Jonathan Wilhite | DB | Illness | DNP | DNP |
For more on the Broncos, visit Mile High Report. Bolts from the Blue is the place to go for more on the Chargers.
The Denver Broncos might find the San Diego Chargers down another weapon by the time Sunday's game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High kicks off. Tight end Antonio Gates is already expected to be out for several more weeks, but wide receiver Vincent Jackson's status has changed drastically over the last few days. He has a hamstring injury that prevented him from practicing on Wednesday.
Jackson did miss two days of practice last week due to an abdominal injury, but he did pick up 108 yards and a touchdown in limited playing time. However, this hamstring injury may have been a result of his compensating for the previous injury, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune.
Also not participating were Luis Castillo, Jacques Cesaire and Nick Hardwick. Quentin Jammer had full participation on Wednesday.
For more on the Broncos, visit Mile High Report. Bolts from the Blue is the place to go for more on the Chargers.
Champ Bailey has missed the last three games for the Denver Broncos. Will he be healthy to play this week?