The Mile High Stadium was a screaming sea of orange, as the Denver Broncos beat the L.A. Chargers 24-21 in the season-opener last Monday night. With a strong lead through the first three quarters, the Broncos allowed a comeback in the fourth, leading to a key Bronco block that downed a potential game-trying kick from the Chargers rookie, Younghoo Koo. The Chargers, down 24-7 at one point, saw an incredible comeback slip from their grasp, but Broncos fans paraded and sang in excitement of their season-opening victory. Broncos quarterback, Trevor Siemian, did not disappoint.
Denver’s offense came out strong in the first quarter. Siemian threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Bennie Fowler after a 13-play 70 yards that brought them to the end zone. Broncos defense kept the Charger offense shut down, concluding the first quarter 7-0.
At the half, Denver led 14-7 with a 21-yard run by C.J. Anderson, multiple touches by Jamaal Charles and A.J. Derby and a final one-yard rushing touchdown completed when Siemian beat the Charger’s star defensive end, Joey Bosa. By the end of the third, the Broncos had a lead of 24-7 after Emmanuel Sanders impressed everyone with a key catch and run for a first down that led to another touchdown.
Early in the fourth, however, the Chargers felt the rush of a miraculous comeback when Charger’s Adrian Phillips came through with a big interception. Chargers quarterback, Phillip Rivers threw to Keenan Allen in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown pass. Chargers defense kept up their end as they forced a fumble by running back Jamaal Charles, which was recovered by Chargers cornerback Casey Hayward. What followed was an incredible 38-yard feed from Rivers to Travis Benjamin. All of the sudden, the score read Broncos 24 Chargers 21. Broncos fans went mad.
Now a Broncos ball, Siemian led the team in range of a field goal, with the help of a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty. Geared to get a better lead, kicker Brandon McManus attempted a 50-yard field goal..and missed.
The Chargers, now focused on a tie game leading to overtime, put themselves into field goal range and sent in the rookie, Koo. It was his first field goal attempt in the NFL. Koo made his initial kick, but it was waved off when the Broncos used a timeout to ice him. It worked, and Koo was blocked in his second field goal kick, taking away the comeback of the season and a proud moment for the Chargers rookie.
The Denver Broncos may have gotten lucky with the last block, but they played strong through the first few quarters and showed Denver fans a great season-opening home game. Both the Broncos and the Chargers debuted their new head coaches, and the former San Diego Chargers played their first game as the L.A. Chargers after relocating to L.A. during the off-season.
The Broncos destroyed the Dallas Cowboys this past Sunday in Denver ending in a 42-17 score as victory cheers were heard across the state of Colorado. Siemian holds his team at 2-0 for the season.
Denver will hit the road for their next game against the Buffalo Bills.
