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Date: Sunday, October 7, 2007
Time: 4:15 p.m. ET
Teams: San Diego Chargers (1-3) at Denver Broncos (2-2)
Location:Invesco Field @ Mile High - Denver, CO
We have talked at nauseum about what ails the Denver Broncos. All the while, with all these problems, the Broncos find themselves in a first place tie in the AFC West and welcome a team that might just be struggling more than we are. The Chargers are 1-3, and have looked bad doing it. L.T. is sure to be licking his chops, and the Chargers need to get back on track fast. The Broncos will be heading into their BYE week, and it is imperative that the team gets to the break over .500 and in first place instead of 1-2 at home and below .500.
Here are some tidbits about the game to astonish your friends with --
POINTS OF INTEREST --
--The Broncos own a 52-41-1 all-time regular-season record against the Chargers, including a 34-13-1 mark at home...
--The Broncos' 52 wins against the Chargers are their most against any opponent...
--The Broncos are 10-2 at home against San Diego since 1995 (only losses in 2000 and 2006)...
--Denver can begin the season with a 2-0 record in divisional play for the sixth consecutive year with a win against San Diego--The Broncos' five-year streak (2002-06) of a 2-0 record to open their divisional schedule is the second-longest active streak in the league (Indianapolis, 7 yrs.)...
--Denver's game against the Chargers will be their final contest before taking the bye week--The Broncos have won their last thee games before the bye week and are 9-9 all-time in those games (8-4 since 1995)...
--Mike Shanahan, who owns a 19-8 career record against the Chargers, can become the only active head coaches with at least 20 regular-season wins against two opponents with a victory on Sunday (Shanahan has 20 wins against Oakland)...
--Denver K Jason Elam has scored more points (222) and made more field goals (48) against San Diego than any player in league annals...
--The Chargers will be the first team that Denver QB Jay Cutler will play for the second time in his career--Cutler registered a 97.6 passer rating (17-of-30, 188 yds., 2 TDs, 0 INTs) in Denver's 48-20 loss at San Diego on Dec. 10...
--The Broncos' 36-14 (.720) record at INVESCO Field at Mile High is the sixth best home record in the NFL since it opened in 2001...
--Denver owns the NFL's best home record in divisional play since 2001 (17-3) as well as since 1995 (36-8)...
--Cutler has thrown a TD pass in all nine of his career starts, and that streak is the longest by a Bronco to begin his career in club history...
--Cutler also is the first player since Mark Rypien (Was.) in 1988-89 to throw at least one TD in each of his first nine games played--Rypien began his career with 11 consecutive such games...
--LB D.J. Williams leads Denver with 52 tackles and is on pace for 208 tackles, a total that would mark the highest by a Bronco since Randy Gradishar had 224 tackles in 1983...
--CB Champ Bailey leads Denver with five special-teams tackles (all on kickoffs) while DE Elvis Dumervil is tied for the team lead with four pass breakups...
--Dumervil was credited with three pass breakups against Indianapolis...
--RB Travis Henry leads the NFL in rushing yards (670) dating back to the final two weeks of the 2006 season and is first in the league (433) in rushing this year...
--K Jason Elam (1,702 pts. in 224 career games) became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 1,700 career points in Denver's game against Indianapolis last week...
--WR Brandon Marshall has totaled a team-high 523 receiving yards in Denver's last nine games dating back to last season...
--For the first time since December 2005, Denver has converted at least 50 percent of its third-down attempts in three consecutive games...
--The Broncos (6th in NFL on offense and defense) join New England as the only two teams in the NFL to rank among the top six in the league both offensively and defensively...
--Denver has the fifth-best yardage differential (+348 / 1,530-1,182) in the NFL...
--The Broncos lead the NFL in pass defense (114.5 ypg.) and are fifth in the league in yards per pass play allowed (4.87)...
--P Todd Sauerbrun is averaging a career-best 51.7 yards per punt...
--WR Rod Smith, the club's all-time leader in every major career receiving category, is on Denver's physically unable to perform list with a left hip injury.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR --
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK VS. SAN DIEGO
TEAM (1-0 DIVISIONAL RECORD) - Can begin the year with a 2-0 record in divisional play for the sixth consecutive year with a win against San Diego (streak is second longest in NFL).
TEAM (3 CONSEC. WINS BEFORE BYE) - Can win its fourth consecutive game played immediately before its bye week with a victory against San Diego.
MIKE SHANAHAN (19 WINS VS. SAN DIEGO) - Can become the only active head coach with at least 20 regular-season wins against two opponents with a victory against San Diego (already has 20 wins vs. Oakland).
CB CHAMP BAILEY (22 INTS) - Needs two interceptions to tie Steve Atwater (24) for eighth and four to tie Louis Wright (26) for seventh in Broncos history in career interceptions.
CB CHAMP BAILEY (301 INT YDS.) - Needs 34 interception return yards to tie Randy Gradishar (335) for 10th, 39 to tie Tom Jackson (340) for ninth and 59 to tie Louis Wright for eighth in Broncos history in career interception return yards.
CB CHAMP BAILEY (3 INT RET. FOR TDS) - Needs one interception returned for a touchdown to tie Tyrone Braxton (4) and Mike Harden (4) for the most interceptions returned for a touchdown in Broncos history.
QB JAY CUTLER (9-GAME TD STREAK) - Can extend his franchise-record nine-game streak of consecutive starts with at least one touchdown pass to begin a Broncos career with a scoring toss on Sunday against the Chargers. His streak of at least one TD pass in each of his first eight games played is the longest in the NFL since 1988-89 (Mark Rypien, Was., 11 Gms.).
DE ELVIS DUMERVIL (2 MULTI-SACK GMS.) - Can become the first Bronco since Bert Berry and Trevor Pryce in 2003 to post at least three multiple-sack games in the same season with 1.5 sacks on Sunday against the Chargers.
K JASON ELAM (470 FGA) - Needs seven field goal attempts to tie Norm Johnson (477) for ninth in NFL history in career field goal attempts.
K JASON ELAM (376 FGM) - Needs seven field goals made to tie Nick Lowery (383) for fifth in NFL history in career field goals made.
K JASON ELAM (577 PATA) - Needs seven extra point attempts to tie Pat Leahy (584) for seventh in NFL history in career extra point attempts.
K JASON ELAM (574 PATM) - Needs six extra points made to tie Jan Stenerud (580) for sixth in NFL history in career extra points made.
K JASON ELAM (1,702 PTS.) - Needs nine points to tie Nick Lowery (1,711) for seventh in NFL history in career points scored.
DE SIMEON RICE (121 SACKS) - Needs half a sack to tie Clyde Simmons (121.5) for 12th and 5.5 sacks to tie Derrick Thomas (126.5) for 11th in NFL history in career sacks.
P TODD SAUERBRUN (79 PUNTS) - Needs one punt to tie Paul Ernster (80) for 11th in Broncos history in career punts.
WR JAVON WALKER (53-GAME RECEP. STREAK) - Can extend his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 54 games on Sunday against the Chargers.