The Chargers are a curious team. It has been difficult to tell if it is the team the Patriots tossed around in a 35-21 decision in Week 2 or the one that did just enough to dispatch some of the league’s weak links on the way to three wins.
The Broncos will be the fourth team the Chargers have played this season that has a current record of 1-3 (Broncos, Chiefs) or 0-4 (Vikings, Dolphins). That is not exactly battle-tested.
Still, there are some things the Broncos must consider if they don’t want to be the fourth struggling team the Chargers have defeated.
He has turned over the ball more — six interceptions in his first three games this year — but didn’t toss a pick last week against the Dolphins. He has also been good in the fourth quarter, having completed 77.8 percent of his passes, and three of his five touchdown passes this season have come in the fourth quarter.
Only Eli Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady have thrown more fourth-quarter touchdown passes this season than Rivers.
Through the years and a growing list of defensive coordinators, the Broncos haven’t consistently pressured Rivers enough. Beyond Von Miller’s two sacks last Sunday and two near-misses, the Broncos didn’t consistently put stress on Aaron Rodgers in the pocket. The results were disastrous.
The Chargers, having seen the trouble the Broncos had in defending against the vertical game, will certainly try something on that order. They may put some bigger players out wide like running backs Mike Tolbert and Ryan Mathews as well as a tight end like Randy McMichael or, if healthy, Antonio Gates.
Tolbert leads the team in catches with 25 and Mathews is third with 19. That’s an inordinate amount of work to backs in the check-down game, but the Broncos’ linebackers and safeties may be busy in this one.
They might be so busy that the Broncos may have to hope Champ Bailey and André Goodman can survive in man coverage on the outside and then zone things up in the middle of the field.
Gates is still a big question mark and has not played since early in the fourth quarter against the Patriots in Week 2. Rivers has completed passes to 10 different players already this season.
Sure, that tidy 77.5 mark came from Brady, but the Chargers have had difficulty slowing down opposing passing games. Teams also are scoring touchdowns on San Diego once they get inside the 20.
Many in the seats will be waiting to boo, so to reduce the headaches in his life, Orton could use a good day at the office.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
