The Denver Broncos are leaving San Diego with a win, a AFC West Championship wrapped up, and battered and bruise. A number of key Denver Broncos players left the today's game with some sort of injury/illness.
Here's what we know so far with the updates given
Ryan Clady said it was strained quad. They didn't want him to make it worse. Believes will be OK going forward #Broncos
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) December 15, 2014
Left tackle Ryan Clady left the game early in the first quarter after injuring his thigh. He was seen trying to stretch it out on the sideline but he did not return to the game. Backup tackle Chris Clark replaced Clady in the lineup.
This will be something to keep an eye on going forward. Things like this can be reaggravated in weeks prior, so I would expect the Broncos to play it safe with Clady this week. Thankfully it doesn't appear to be a serious injury.
The Broncos banged up at Linebacker:
Heading into this game coaches and players were raving about the idea of having linebacker Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan on the field at the same time. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way for the Broncos defense.
First linebacker Brandon Marshall left the game in the first half with a foot injury, and he did not return to the game. Marshall was seen in a walking boot in the locker room during post game interviews.
Marshall has right foot in boot. X-rays were negative. MRI tomorrow. Hopeful not serious
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) December 15, 2014
The good news here is that Marshall did not break any bones, but the MRI will be important. The Broncos are hopeful that it's not serious, but it appears that Marshall could miss some extended time here.
We will find out more on Marshall probably tomorrow.
Danny Trevathan injured his knee late in the game, but the team tweeted out that Trevathan did not suffer a injury. However The Denver Posts Troy Reneck tweets out that Trevathan may have a hyper-extended knee.
Trevathan could have hyperextended left knee. Needs MRI to find out. Doesn't believe as serous past two knee issues #broncos
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) December 15, 2014
Like Marshall we will find out more about Trevathan's injury tomorrow when the MRI results come back. The good news is that he doesn't believe this injury is as serious as his other two prior ones. Hopefully he will be considered "day-to-day" instead of "week-to-week".
Either way Trevathan has had some awful luck on the injury front in 2014.
Peyton Manning dealing with the flu, and a thigh issue:
The big story of this game was the health of Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. It was reported around kick-off that Manning was dealing with "flu like symptoms" and has been receiving IV treatment since last night.
Manning after the game "I didn't feel great last night ... coming into the game.'' Said he had "about four IVs.''
— Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) December 15, 2014
Manning also said he feared he might not even be able to play today's game because of his illness. Thankfully Manning fought threw the illness and finished the game with a 14-20 for 233 yards and 1 touchdown stat line.
Many Broncos fans were spooked when Peyton Manning went straight to the locker room after throwing a block on Chargers linebacker Donald Butler. The Chargers punted the ball back, but Manning remained in the locker room, and backup quarterback Brock Osweiler took three snaps, and attempted two passes in Manning's absence. Manning said he needed "extra work with the training staff" and that's why he missed that series.
PFM said he hurt his leg on a pass to Sanders, thought the Anderson play was a TD & needed extra work from training staff before half
— Brandon Krisztal (@BKDenverSports) December 15, 2014
CBS did report that Osweiler was going to start the second half at Quarterback for the Broncos, but Manning pleased his case to the coaches and played out the rest of the game.
The other issue for Manning was his thigh issue. According to Manning he suffered it while he was scrambling, and not when he threw a block. You could tell Manning was grimacing at times, but it didn't look to affect Manning's game much.
I'm sure Manning will spend plenty of time in the tub and in bed in the next coming days.
We at Mile High Report will keep you updated on these injuries when more is released.