By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos are preparing for the Los Angeles Chargers for their season finale on Sunday. Once the game is over, Denver will turn the page to the offseason to look for areas they can improve on to make a run at the postseason next year. The Broncos will be without rookie running back Philip Lindsay who suffered a season ending wrist injury against the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football.
Lindsay was a bright spot for the Broncos this year. He was undrafted and it was going to be a surprise if he made the opening day roster during training camp. Lindsay proved to the Broncos he could be a reliable running back. In the running game, Denver trusted him because of his speed and ability to make defenders miss. Once he found the hole, Lindsay was able to gain yards to make 2nd and 3rd downs manageable. Lindsay ended up with 1,037 yards and 9 touchdowns with an impressive yards per rush of 5.4 yards.
It wasn’t just the running game that he excelled at this season, but also the passing game. Lindsay would go out for a short pass. Quarterback Case Keenum found him wide open. When he caught the ball, defenses needed to stop him quickly otherwise it was a large chunk of yards. He finished with 241 yards receiving and 1 touchdown. Denver trusted him to block for Case Keenum so defenses couldn’t sack him. That bought him time to throw the ball to the open receiver.
Denver knows this is a blow for them in the final game of the year. They will go into the game on Sunday with Royce Freeman and Devontae Booker in the backfield. They need to run the football to open the passing game for Case Keenum. If they can’t, it will be a long afternoon for the Broncos’ offense.
For Lindsay, this ends his rookie year. He showed what he could do at the NFL level this season, becoming the only undrafted rookie running back ever selected for the Pro Bowl. Next year, he should be the starting running back for the Broncos. Lindsay is only going to improve, helping the Broncos’ running game be one of the best in the NFL. For now, he must heal up and be ready for training camp next July. j
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