ST. LOUIS — At least there’s C.J. Anderson.
The Broncos went through the offseason, training camp, preseason and early in the regular season with a running back depth chart of Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman as their top two.
Anderson was No. 3. Undrafted rookie Juwan Thompson was No. 4.
The Broncos are down to 3 and 4. With Ball (groin) and Hillman (left midfoot sprain) down with injuries, Anderson in his first NFL start Sunday gained only 29 yards rushing on nine carries, but he also picked up 86 yards receiving on eight catches. Thompson didn’t get a carry in the Broncos’ 22-7 loss to the Rams. He had one catch for 5 yards.
Anderson has 159 yards receiving and 119 yards rushing in his past two games.
“All we can do is look at the tape (Monday) and get better,” Anderson said. “But at the end of the day, you’ve got to execute.”
Field position woes. It might have helped the Broncos’ offense if it didn’t always have so far to go. Once during their first 11 drives, which carried late into the fourth quarter, did the Broncos start as far up as their 21-yard line.
Everything else was from their 20 on back.
With 4:44 left in the game, a Rams offside penalty on their kickoff allowed the Broncos to start all they way up at their 25.
The Broncos’ best return was a touchback.
“Their kickoff (coverage unit) did a great job getting down and making plays,” said Andre Caldwell, the Broncos’ kick returner. “We had terrible field position. I’ll take that blame. We’re going to work on some stuff and get better.”
Not so stout. The Broncos entered this game leading the NFL in rush defense, allowing 67 yards per game. They allowed 131 yards against the Rams.
“I don’t feel like today on any side of the ball did we complement each other,” said Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton.
Turf factor. This was not the game for the Broncos’ offensive line to gain confidence. There was a 60 percent shift in positions and personnel a week ago. Sunday they played on turf, where the Rams’ lethal front four are even quicker out of the three-point stance.
“I did terrible,” said left offensive tackle Ryan Clady. “I’ve got to play better.”
And he’s the least of the Broncos’ front-five concerns. Clady was matched up against the Rams’ best pass rusher in Robert Quinn. On the Broncos’ first play of the game, Quinn beat Clady and blasted quarterback Peyton Manning as the Broncos’ quarterback threw.
Quinn didn’t get a sack, but he had three pass deflections, a hurry and the hit.
“He’s a good player,” Clady said. “Especially on this turf.”
Marshall of the defense. There were times when Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall seemed to be in on every play. He led all defensive players with 15 tackles. DeMarcus Ware was next for the Broncos with seven.
“It didn’t matter how many I had; it wasn’t enough,” Marshall said. “It was just a bad performance by us. We didn’t show up well enough to win the game.”
Footnotes. After looking into the matter, the NFL determined that the New Orleans Saints were in compliance regarding the waiver claim of linebacker Todd Davis by the Broncos, according to Michael Signora, the league’s vice president of football communications. … Virgil Green continued to be sidelined by a calf injury. … Von Miller registered his 10th sack. It tied him with the Texans’ J.J. Watt for the seventh most sacks through four seasons. It represents his third 10-sack season, third in Broncos history behind Simon Fletcher (five) and Paul Smith (four). … The Rams’ Tre Mason became the first rusher to surpass 100 yards against the Broncos.
