13 winners, 2 losers from miraculous 31-30 Broncos win over the Chargers

What the hell just happened?

Did we just see the return of the Mile High Magic for the Denver Broncos?

I might be getting ahead of myself after that incredible, remarkable and totally not typical Broncos 31-30 over the Los Angeles Chargers (2-5), but come on.

After two years of losing games like this, Denver (3-4) found a way.

Again, what the hell just happened?

Per the usual, I’m bound to forget someone or leave them off, so please mention them in the comments.

Winners

Drew Lock

What a tale of two halves. There was a point in early in the second half when reporters like Mike Klis were asking if it was time to bench Lock. Instead, Lock led an incredible comeback win that saw Denver outscore the Chargers 28-6. He finished the game 26-for-41 passing for 248 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Perhaps more important than that, Lock has his confidence back.

Phillip Lindsay

I said before the game that the Broncos running back is the heart and soul of the offense. We saw that with his 55-yard touchdown run to give Denver some life and spark that comeback. Lindsay finished the game with only six carries but for 83 yards and that touchdown.

DaeSean Hamilton

The Broncos receiver has faced a lot of criticism in his career. Perhaps this is a turning-point game for Hamilton. He led Denver with 82 yards on four catches and a huge touchdown.

KJ Hamler

You get the game-winning touchdown catch, you make the list. Well done, rookie.

Albert Okwuegbunam

The rookie tight end only had one catch, but it was a helluva catch. And it was a touchdown. And it Okwuegbunam’s first-career touchdown. He also drew the pass interference that led to Hamler’s touchdown. And despite what Brandon Stokely said on Twitter, yes, it was pass interference.

Kareem Jackson

Holy smokes, the Broncos safety is a missile. Just ask his teammate A.J. Bouye. Jackson set the tone for Denver’s defense. He led the Broncos with 12 tackles (eight solo).

Josey Jewell

The young linebacker continues to show why Denver moved on from Todd Davis. Another strong showing from Jewell. He finished with 10 tackles (six solo).

Justin Simmons

You create a turnover, you make the list. Simmons had five tackles (four solo) and an interception.

Bryce Callahan

See above when it comes to turnovers. It’s nice to see Callahan on the field and make a difference for this secondary. And he may have made the defensive play of the game with his pick in the end zone.

Malik Reed

Ho-hum, the second-year edge finished with another three tackles (two solo), one tackle for loss and one sack. That brings Reed’s total to five sacks on the season. I’ll throw Bradley Chubb in here, too. Chubb finished with four tackles and one sack. Chubb now has 5.5 sacks on the season.

Brandon McManus

The Broncos kicker still had to make the extra point after Hamler’s touchdown to avoid going in overtime. And right on cue, he was McMoney. He was 4-for-4 on his extra points and made his lone field goal from 35 yards.

Vic Fangio

Despite being down 24-3, the Broncos never gave up. That’s a credit to Fangio. I also like the way he managed the game down the stretch and used his timeouts.

Broncos Country

It’s been a long five years. It’s been a long 2020. I won’t go so far as to say Denver fans deserved this win, but this was fun. Can we get back to this please?

Losers

Broncos special teams

Still horrible. And why did Tyrie Cleveland return that kickoff with 2 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the game? That’s coaching and that means Tom McMahon. At least the horrible “teams” couldn’t cost Denver a win.

The Chargers

Los Angeles is the first time in NFL history to blow four leads of 16 points or more in four straight games. As Joe Reedy pointed out on Twitter, Sunday is the fifth time in Chargers’ history they have blown a lead of 21 or more. You can move them out of San Diego, they’re still the Chargers.