We waited on this to see whether or not Jason Verrett was going to be able to play for the Chargers in their Thursday Night Football duel with the Broncos.
He is, which is a bit a surprise and a testament to just how tough this rookie out of TCU really is. Verrett has not played since making his first NFL interception at the end of San Diego's win in Oakland two weeks ago.
He's been limited in practice for two weeks, missing last week's game against the Chiefs. But since fellow CB Brandon Flowers can't play with a concussion, Verrett is going to give it a go, even though he's nowhere near 100-percent. healthy. That's not really the way you want to go in to your first career game against Peyton Manning.
You can bet the house that Manning is going to test Verrett early in the game. If he holds up to the challenge, it'll be up to another defensive back to play a whole lot better than he did a week ago, and that brings us to our three players to watch:
Richard Marshall, CB
There's no way to sugar coat this. Marshall was awful after he came in for the injured Flowers against Kansas City. Dwayne Bowe was open multiple times against Marshall, who had trouble with the more physical wide receiver. Fellow starter Shareece Wright will likely see a lot of Demaryius Thomas, so Marshall should be matched up on Emmanuel Sanders quite a bit. Sanders is only 5'11", not the kind of monster that Bowe or Thomas are, so Marshall will likely not have to be playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage like he did against Bowe. Marshall also had a brain cramp with a holding penalty on 3rd down that extended a Chiefs scoring drive. If Marshall is not dramatically better in coverage, especially early in the game, Manning will exploit him and the Chargers might be forced to give undrafted rookie Chris Davis more snaps. Again, not the way you want to see Manning for the first time.
Corey Liuget, DE
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Now, the best way to help out a struggling corner is to not let the quarterback have enough time to throw at him. Last year's 27-20 Chargers win in Denver was sealed when Liuget hit Manning, forcing a bad throw that was intercepted by Thomas Keiser. If the Chargers want to have any chance at all of keeping this game close, they'll have to force turnovers. Since Manning typically is not going to make bad reads, and the running game with Ronnie Hillman is used mostly as a change of pace to keep defenses honest, the best way to get the ball from the Broncos is to force Peyton in to bad throws by knocking him around. Liuget has been, by far, San Diego's most disruptive lineman this season, and he'll have to keep it up in Denver.
Ronnie Brown, RB
Branden Oliver will be the feature back again, and he could have a big game. But he can't carry it 30 times. I have a feeling Brown has a chip on his shoulder right now. The veteran played a majority of the playoff game in Denver last year with Ryan Mathews out with an injury, and was not terribly effective. But, he's still dangerous going bewteen the tackles (witness last year's monster TD burst in Cincinnati) when he has a bit of a hole. Plus, he's earned the trust of Philip Rivers in the passing game. Last week the Bolts were 3-for-10 on 3rd downs, well below their season average. They repeat that this week and they'll get boat-raced. If Rivers needs to find someone on 3rd down he'll be looking for Antonio Gates. But, so will the Broncos. So, Brown will be an important option to keep the chains moving, and keep Manning off the field.
Derek's Prediction
Realistically, given the injuries the Chargers are dealing with in the secondary and at linebacker (Melvin Ingram will be especially missed Thursday night), it's crazy to think the Broncos are not going to score a bunch of points. So, the only way for the Bolts to win is to outgun them.
Philip Rivers absolutely has the ability to do that. He has the weapons in the passing game. He has a brand new toy in Branden Oliver (by the way, all the folks saying Oliver had an off game against the Chiefs are just wrong. He only got 15 carries because the Chargers had to throw so often, but averaged just shy of five yards a rush, which I'll take any day). He has complete command of the offense and what to do when.
I know it's a completely different situation, but last year's Thursday night win in Colorado keeps popping up in my head. All logic says the Broncos win this game. All numbers and statistical analysis say the Broncos win this game.
However, football is a game of emotion. So forgive me if I let my heart get the better of me here. The Chargers keep it close enough to have a shot, and Nick Novak nails a 58-yard field goal late in the 4th quarter to win it.
Final Score: Chargers 41, Broncos 40
