Gäste » If we’re talking strictly about value relative to the dropoff

DENVER (AP) — Philip Rivers feels Von Miller’s pain.Three years ago Royce Freeman Jersey , it was Rivers leading the Chargers into the finale of a failed season, playing for pride and facing a talent-laden Broncos team that was jockeying for playoff position.The Chargers put a scare into the Broncos that day before Peyton Manning returned after halftime to rescue Denver and catapult the franchise on a joyous journey that would end in a rain of confetti and the Lombardi Trophy in his hand.This time, the Chargers (11-4) are the ones seeking a smoother path in the playoffs when they visit the Broncos (6-9), who are out to avoid the ignominy of posting double-digit losses in consecutive seasons for the first time in 51 years.“We haven’t been in this position in a long time,” Rivers said. “The way I look at it from their standpoint is, how would I treat it? That’s the only way that I know. You only get 16 of them that you’re promised and you play them all regardless of what is coming next.”The Chargers treated that game on Jan. 3, 2015, which they lost 27-20, like they were the ones preparing for the postseason, not the offseason.“We’ve been in this boat somewhat, not exactly similar, and we were at Denver, out of it, and they were playing to be the No. 1 seed a few years ago. We came and fought like crazy to keep them from getting it,” Rivers recounted. “This is a division opponent. It’s professional football, so I expect to get their best. We know that their best is dang good.”A win in Denver combined with an upset by the Raiders in Kansas City would give the Chargers their first AFC West title since 2009 along with the coveted homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Otherwise, L.A. hits the road for wild-card weekend.“Yeah, it is weird to be rooting for the Raiders, but that’s the nature of this business John Elway Jersey ,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said.Rivers will be rooting all right, but not for Oakland.“I’m rooting for us on Sunday,” he said, “and whatever happens, happens .”Other subplots Sunday in what might be Vance Joseph’s final game in Denver if Broncos general manager John Elway decides to move on and look for his fourth head coach in six seasons:FIRED UPMiller is fired up to face the Chargers , and not just because he has sacked Rivers 16 times in his career, more than twice as many as any other QB on his hit list.Miller took offense at the Chargers dissing Denver after the Broncos pulled off a 23-22 last-second win in L.A. last month despite being dominated all afternoon.Keenan Allen refused to give the Broncos any credit , suggesting, “They suck.”Rivers’ reaction wasn’t as succinct but just as notable in Miller’s mind.He said he was miffed by “the Keenan Allen comment and Philip Rivers said, ‘We lost three games. We lost to two good teams (the Rams and Chiefs) and we stubbed our toe with the Broncos.’“For us, it’s little stuff like that, especially for me personally, you know, where OK, we’ve got a second crack at it. Let’s see.”ROYCE RETURNSWith rookie rushing sensation Philip Lindsay headed for surgery on his right wrist, fellow rookie Royce Freeman returns to the starting role he relinquished two months ago when his ankle injury coincided with Lindsay’s emergence.“Phillip’s been so good, he’s gotten less and less chances, but Royce has been Royce,” Joseph said of the third-round pick from Oregon who has rushed for five touchdowns and a 4.8-yard average.Lindsay Womens Joe Flacco Jersey , the first undrafted offensive player selected to a Pro Bowl, is one of eight offensive players who started multiple games for the Broncos this season that won’t be in uniform Sunday.SLOW STARTERSThe Chargers have been outscored 43-14 in the first quarter the past five games and their minus-29 point differential is the worst in the league during that stretch.The Broncos have been mired in slow starts for two months as coordinator Bill Musgrave’s scripted plays have been a colossal bust: Denver has punted on its opening drive in each of the last eight games.In their last 10 first-quarter drives covering four games, the Broncos have punted nine times and scored one touchdown.KEENUM A KEEPER?Elway also has to decide whether to keep Case Keenum at $18 million next season or jettison him with a $7 million thank-you. Although his 3,598 yards passing are a career high, so are his 14 interceptions and 33 sacks.“Nobody in this building likes losing, nobody in this city likes losing … I hate it,” Keenum said. “To go out on a high note, to beat a team going into playoffs, maybe to show some other teams how to beat them, we’ve got a great opportunity here, with a great opponent and it’d be a great way to end the year.” Since the bye falls so close to the midway point this season, it seemed like a good time to check in on the Vic Fangio Broncos. Yesterday we looked at the most impressive offensive performances so far this year, today we turn to the other side of the ball. There’s a lot of candidates. Such is life when you have one of the best units in football. So who has been the defensive MVP so far in 2019?Taylor Kothe: Alexander Johnson. Justin Simmons will get a lot of very well deserved love here as well, so I want to make sure Johnson gets highlighted. To rise above false accusation and 4 years out of football to play at a high level in the NFL is incredible. After spending the first 4 weeks on the bench, Johnson has averaged 8 tackles a game in 5 starts, with multiple pass defenses, an interception, and a forced fumble as well. If he holds to his pace, there’s a good chance he may surpass 100 combined tackles in just 12 games played. The Broncos have found their inside linebacker.Kyle Berry: Justin Simmons. He’s become an unquestioned leader on that defense Joe Flacco Jersey White , he helps in the run game and we are scratching the surface on his solid potential in Fangio’s system. Injuries in the back seven have limited what made Broncos fans thought we’d see out of the BC product, but Simmons has done well fitting multiple masks, and should only get more comfortable with the eventual return of Bryce Callahan and progress of Davontae Harris in the defense.Joe Mahoney: Kareem Jackson. While I love the contributions that Johnson and Simmons have provided, we saw what happened when Jackson was both not in the field as well as being forced to play CB and not focus solely on safety. Kareem Jackson missed the 4th game of the season and our defense did not work. That 4th game was the game against Jacksonville where we gave up 269 yards rushing. In the other 8 games the defense has allowed 699 total yards rushing or 87 yards per game. This means that without Jackson our defense was crap. Admittedly, we have not had a game where we have missed Simmons or Chris Harris, but this is the only data point that I need to call Jackson my mid-season defensive MVP.Jeff Essary: Gotta agree with Joe Mahoney on Kareem Jackson. He’s the leader and quarterback of the secondary. In a system like Fangio’s that puts a lot of responsibility on the safeties, Jackson has been a tremendous fit, and he and Justin Simmons form one of the best duos in the league at the position.Scotty Payne: Justin Simmons about to get paid. Many hoped he would make the jump in Fangio/Donatell’s system and he did just that. The No Fly Zone is dead and gone, but Simmons is a piece who can get that unit back to a dominant level sometime in the near future. JoRo: at the position? It’s Von Miller. With Bradley Chubb out for the year and two rookies behind him on the depth chart, Von is working overtime to carry the Broncos pass rush in 2019. I know his sack numbers are down, and that’s had a lot of box score scouts up in arms about how he’s overpaid, not trying hard, yada yada. Look a little closer and he’s still having a profound impact on the pass defense. Accordingto Sports Info Solution’s game charting Miller has 34 pressures on the year and trails only the now injured J.J. Watt (who also has just four sacks). Beyond that, you can see the impact the 30-year old edge rusher’s having on younger players like Malik Reed if you turn on his tape and compare it to the preseason footage. What he’s doing as a leader is almost as impressive as everything else he’s put on film.Tim Lynch: I think all of those players have been outstanding, but they have all been a major part of this defense since Week 1. However, since Alexander Johnson has stepped foot on the field the whole dynamic of that defense seemed to change. I’ve gotta go with Taylor on this one and give the MVP nod Johnson’s way through the first half of the season.