Chargers, familiar with being 0-4, expect Broncos’ best
CARSON — Von Miller casually chewed his healthy meal that consisted of avocados, broccoli and sausages while he waited for the first question from Chargers reporters on a conference call Thursday.
The Denver Broncos’ star pass rusher was first asked if he’s ever been 0-4 during his nine years with the team. Miller didn’t flinch at the delicate inquiry.
“This is my first time being 0-4 my entire life,” Miller responded as he continued to chew his food in a nonchalant manner.
Miller had a positive mindset for the Broncos’ winless start, and didn’t sound like a player feeling the pressure of trying to avoid the franchise’s first 0-5 start when they face the Chargers on Sunday at Dignity Health Sports Park.
But Miller wasn’t looking for sympathy or moral victories. Two-point losses against the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars, and respectable performances against the Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers, weren’t going to change anything.
“Nope,” a laughing Miller said after being asked if he took solace in the close games. “A loss is a loss.
“We’re still good. If you play football long enough, you’re going to be in tight positions and tight situations, and that’s where we’re at, and the only way out is up.”
Miller was relaxed on the conference call, but the Chargers (2-2) are expecting the Broncos to fight Sunday.
For the Chargers, it’s their first AFC West game of the season. But for the Broncos, their season is on the line in Week 5.
“No matter what the record is, they’re going to play you well because they know you,” Chargers running back Melvin Gordon said. “We play them twice a year, there ain’t no running from that, regardless of what the record is. … This game is everything to them.”
Gordon recalls being 0-4 in 2017 during the Chargers’ first season in Los Angeles after relocating from San Diego. He remembers the tense mood entering their Week 5 road matchup against the New York Giants. The Chargers won three in a row after the 0-4 start, finished 9-7 and fell a tiebreaker short of making the postseason.
“I remember when we were 0-4,” Gordon said. “It was like, ‘We need a win here. Desperate for a win. We’re going to do whatever we can to get it.’ They’re coming in like that, because if you go 0-5, it’s kinda hard to get out of that hole. Pretty much have to go undefeated throughout the year. That’s kinda hard.
“We were 0-4, it was back against the wall. We’re gonna throw everything at you. We got nothing to lose. We lose, we’re out. So y’all gonna get our best. That’s how we have to approach the game.”
The Broncos also had their struggles last season and came to Carson losers of their last seven games. The Broncos won 23-22 and snapped the Chargers’ six-game winning streak.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers knows it’s not the same Broncos defense that won the Super Bowl in 2015, but he won’t underestimate them since they still have core players like cornerback Chris Harris Jr., defensive end Derek Wolfe and Miller.
“Guys that you’ve played against, shoot, double-digit times,” Rivers said. “You know what you’re going to get. It’s going to be a division football game. They very easily could be 2-2.”
The Broncos will have to play the rest of the season without emerging pass rusher Bradley Chubb, who tore his ACL last week. Chubb and Miller were projected to be one of the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL. But the Broncos have only managed five sacks this season.
The Chargers will also likely be down one of their star pass rushers if Melvin Ingram can’t play because of the hamstring injury he sustained last week against the Miami Dolphins. If that’s the case, Uchenna Nwosu will be the second fiddle to star defensive end Joey Bosa, who received praise from Miller on the conference call.
“This team is 0-4,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said about the Broncos. “We’ve been there before. We know how we felt at 0-4. They’re going to be hungry, they’re going to be desperate. We have to be ready for anything and everything.”