Injury Forecast
Thursday Night Football brings us a pair of resurgent franchises from the AFC West where the Denver Broncos will be battling it out with the Los Angeles Chargers in Los Angeles. This game features two teams that have had their fair share of injuries, but seem to have gotten healthier as recent weeks have approached. They say the best ability is availability so let’s see what these teams can do in what promises to be a fun game on Thursday night.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers have key contributors on IR such as J.K. Dobbins, Hayden Hurst, and Asante Samuel Jr. Dobbins and Samuel Jr. are not expected to be activated any time soon, but Hurst logged a full practice on Tuesday which is a positive sign for his availability on Thursday. The Chargers will need it as fellow tight end, Will Dissly, hasn’t practiced yet this week and looks to be out for Thursday’s game.
The big question mark is Justin Herbert who has been dealing with an ankle injury. We all know that Jim Harbaugh loves to run the ball, but let’s face it, this offense runs through Herbert. He has been a limited participant so far this week and will be a game-time decision come Thursday night. If Herbert starts, I’d feel okay with playing members of this offense in the fantasy semi-finals. Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey are solid WR2.
The running game will be split between Gus Edwards and Kimani Vidal with Dobbins out but I wouldn’t expect much from this Chargers team in terms of running the ball. The game script played a big part, but this run game was stopped in Tampa Bay last week and I expect it to be similar this week. I wouldn’t play these two as more than a flex.
Denver Broncos
Denver can clinch a playoff berth with a win and that’s just something I didn’t envision myself saying this year, but here we are. The only player of note on IR is Tyler Badie, but this backfield is still flush with options with Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Audric Estime. A quick note on McLaughlin is that he is battling a quad injury and didn’t practice Monday but did have limited participation on Tuesday. His status for Thursday is up in the air, but I would be shocked if he is rushed back with the other options in this backfield.
The big concern surrounding Denver was the injury to superstar cornerback Pat Surtain II. He suffered an ankle injury but has been a full participant at practice this week so he looks to be good to go. The Denver defense has been stout this year allowing a 63.1 completion percentage (7th) and snagging 14 interceptions (4th). On the ground, the Broncos have only allowed 3.9 yards per carry (T-2nd) and have only given up 7 rushing touchdowns (T-2nd) on the year. This team will look to continue their sharp work against a susceptible Chargers offense.
As far as offense, this team is healthy and ready to go led by Rookie of the Year candidate, Bo Nix. While Courtland Sutton is the “flashiest” name of the pass-catchers, the Broncos have received surprising production from a lot of players who were considered write-offs. With Los Angeles having a banged-up secondary (Eli Apple and Asante Samuel Jr. on IR; Cam Hart, Elijah Molden, and Kristian Fulton on the injury report), I expect Denver to lean on Nix and the passing game Thursday night.
