The Denver Broncos had a tough time shifting out of neutral against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, losing 23-16 at home. It was a tough loss for the Broncos, snapping their three-game winning streak.
Things got off to a terrible start as Bo Nix threw an interception on the team's first drive and then on the Broncos' first defensive snap, Pat Surtain II had his head hit the turf and though he walked off under his own power, he did not return. His status for Thursday's game against the New Orleans Saints is now in question.
Looking back at what transpired in Week 6, here are the Broncos' winners and losers.
Winner: Courtland Sutton
Courtland Sutton had only four catches for 53 yards, but his fourth-quarter touchdown grab was as good as some of the circus catches he made last season and that kept the team in the game.
Loser: Running game
This is an area where the Broncos just have to be better.
Broncos running backs carried the ball 11 times for just 44 yards in this game. The team's leading rusher was Nix, who had nearly triple the output of the leading running back. The offense becomes too one-dimensional as a result of this and that is the biggest problem with this team right now.
Javonte Williams also lost a fumble and that just can't happen. He should be on a short leash at this point as he has been largely ineffective this season.
Winner: Rookie wide receivers
Joining Sutton in the winner's circle were the Broncos' two rookie wide receivers, Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele.
Vele returned from a month-long absence and made his presence felt in the second half, catching four passes for 78 yards. Vele has played in two games this season and he has led the team in receiving in those two games.
As for Franklin, who dropped a sure touchdown last week, he was able to catch his first career touchdown pass in this game.
Loser: Ja'Quan McMillian
Ja'Quan McMillian is establishing himself as one of the top young nickel corners in the league, but this wasn't his best day.
He had a pass interference called on him on 3rd-and-8 in the second quarter and later in the game, he had another penalty that was a backbreaker. With just about five minutes left in the game and momentum on the Broncos' side, they were trailing 23-13. Simo Fehoko fumbled the ball around midfield and Malcolm Roach recovered it.
But McMillian was flagged for holding, giving the Chargers an automatic first down. Though that drive still resulted in a Chargers punt, L.A. was able to bleed a precious two and a half minutes off the clock, leaving the Broncos with just over two minutes to work with and down by 10 points.
Winner: Nik Bonitto
Several members of the Broncos' defense had strong games, including Brandon Jones, Zach Allen and Justin Strnad. But Nik Bonitto collected a sack for the fourth game in a row, becoming the first Broncos player to do that since Von Miller.
Loser: Sean Payton
When looking back at this game, many Broncos fans are going to point the finger at Sean Payton for his playcalling and lack of creativity when doing so. Should Payton give up play-calling duties? Maybe, but he isn't going to.
He certainly needs to be willing to try a completely different approach, because his "system" seems a bit antiquated and defenses just aren't going to bite on most of it anymore.
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