INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Here’s a look at whose stock improved or declined after the Broncos’ 34-27 loss to the Chargers on Thursday at SoFi Stadium.
Stock Up
OLB Dondrea Tillman: Denver’s first-year edge rusher has continued to be an intriguing story for the Broncos this season. Tillman, who signed in the offseason after starring for the Birmingham Stallions in the United Football League, logged his fourth sack of the season when he took down quarterback Justin Herbert for a 10-yard loss in the third quarter. Although Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen and Jonathon Cooper have been the driving forces for one of the league’s best pass-rush units, Tillman’s impact shouldn’t be overlooked. He has totaled 19 pressures in 10 games, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
Safety Brandon Jones: The Broncos’ starting safety had another strong performance. Jones had 10 tackles and forced an incompletion in the third quarter after he delivered a hit on wide receiver Josh Palmer to disrupt Herbert’s pass attempt. The former Dolphin has recorded 101 tackles and three interceptions in 2024. He is the first Broncos safety since Hall of Famer Steve Atwater in 1995 to record at least 100 tackles and three interceptions in a season.
RB Audric Estime: Denver’s rookie running back showed once again why he deserves more carries. Estime had a touchdown and averaged 5.3 yards on nine carries against the Chargers. He also had a success rate (percentage of carries resulting in positive EPA) of 55.6%, according to Next Gen Stats.
LB Drew Sanders: The second-year linebacker made his first defensive snap of the season count. With 7:26 to go in the fourth, the third-round pick slipped past Los Angeles’ offensive line on a blitz and sacked Justin Herbert for an 11-yard loss. The play was even more impressive when considering Sanders tore his Achilles in the spring.
Stock Down
ILB Justin Strnad: Denver’s inside linebacker had a performance to forget. In addition to getting flagged for a late hit on Justin Herbert in the third quarter, Strnad was picked apart in coverage. He gave up seven catches for 103 yards on eight targets as the nearest defender vs. the Chargers, according to Next Gen Stats. Even if the late-hit flag was ticky-tack, that’s not good enough.
Denver’s pass rush: Outside of sacks from Drew Sanders and Dondrea Tillman, Los Angeles’ offensive line had the upper hand against Denver’s pass rush. The Broncos had 13 pressures against the Chargers. Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto was silenced after two straight weeks in the national spotlight. Bonitto had one pressure on 21 pass rush snaps. He was lined up against Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater for a good part of the game and couldn’t get anything going. Slater gave up a pressure rate of 5.6% in 18 matchups against Denver’s third-year edge rusher.
Bo Nix: Denver’s rookie quarterback threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns, but it still felt like he could’ve done more. He finished with an average air yards per attempt of 3.3 yards against the Chargers, the second-shortest average passing depth in a game by a quarterback this season with at least 20 passes, according to Next Gen Stats. The lowest came from Panthers’ Bryce Young, who had 3.0 air yards per attempt against the Chargers defense in Week 2.
Broncos vs. winning teams: Even though Denver is in the midst of its best season since 2015, there’s one glaring issue that has plagued the team. After the Broncos’ loss to the Chargers, they are 1-6 against teams that are above .500. However, they are 8-0 against those that are .500 or better.
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.