By Brendan Tyman

The Week 11 showdown between the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos could have a major impact in the American Football Conference (AFC) West division.

In their previous meeting on Oct. 19th, Denver knocked off the Chargers in San Diego 34-23. The Broncos used a kickoff and punt return for touchdowns from Eddie Royal. They mainly held the San Diego offense in check, especially the Phillip Rivers and Vincent Jackson combination. Denver quarterback, Kyle Orton beat Rivers in touchdowns 2-1.

Since that Monday night, the roles have been reversed. The Chargers are coming into this contest with a four game winning streak. Meanwhile Denver has lost three straight games and possibly their starting quarterback.

Chris Simms has been taking first-team snaps in practice this week while Orton is resting a severe ankle sprain.

Here is the breakdown between these two squads.

Broncos Offense: The Broncos are designed to have a short, accurate passing game with receivers who can get yards after the catch. They had been successful with this in their first six contests of the season. Simms had a life-threatening injury in 2006 when he had to have emergency surgery to get his spleen removed. He missed all of the 2007 season and was used in mop-up duty as a backup for the Tennessee Titans last year. This Sunday, Simms can prove himself again after being a starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The offense has been mediocre, but effective for most of this season. Brandon Marshall is one of the most physically imposing receivers in the game. Marshall is 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. He is tough to bring down as evidenced by his game-winning 51-yard touchdown reception against the Dallas Cowboys. Though, he does not have blazing speed and he cannot blow by many corners, his size and toughness are hard to stop, especially in the red zone. Wideout Eddie Royal has great speed and he used this quickness to help the Broncos defeat San Diego in their last match-up. Brandon Stokely is a very good slot receiver and his miracle touchdown catch versus Cincinnati in Week 1 helped spark the 6-0 run to begin the season. Tight end Tony Scheffler is a skilled pass catcher and he had 6 receptions for 101 yards in the last game against the Chargers. The other tight end, Daniel Graham, is known as a blocker. Despite being able to move the ball, Denver has not done a very good job at finding the end zone. They only have 11 touchdowns through the air and four touchdowns on the ground. This is because they do not have a halfback that they can give the ball to gain the tough yards between the tackles. Rookie Knowshon Moreno is the smaller back, but he is still learning concepts of how to block and be a better receiver out of the backfield. Buckhalter is the bigger player, but he has suffered many injuries over his career.

Chargers Defense: This defense is defined by the chaos that they bring in their blitz packages. They have mainly used their outside linebackers in Shaun Phillips (5 sacks) and Shawne Merriman (4 sacks) to create a nightmare for the opposing offenses. Merriman was forced to undergo surgery after suffering two torn knee ligaments last year and he appears to be fully recovered now. The San Diego pass defense has improved over the course of the season. Linebackers Merriman and Phillips are getting more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. After the team had 7 sacks through the first five games, they have accumulated 17 sacks I n the past four contests. This team is regaining its identity. They have a great secondary and pass rushers who can cause havoc in the backfield. Antonio Cromartie is one of the best cover corners in the National Football League (NFL). Eric Weddle is emerging as a terrific young safety. Second year cornerback Antoine Cason and Cromartie are leading the squad with 2 picks. The run defense has struggled due to the absence of defensive tackle Jamal Williams. Williams is 348 pounds and was able to force multiple inside lineman to block him, which would free the inside linebackers (Stephen Cooper) to hold the running game. They have allowed 1070 yards, which ranks 23rd in the league. The Chargers could play more zone defense on Sunday to try to neutralize the Denver passing game.

Chargers Offense: The downward spiral of running back LaDanian Tomlinson has continued and he is probably in the twilight of his great career. He is now 30 years old and once halfbacks reach that age, they never return to their superstar form. Tomlinson is still able to find the goal line as he has five touchdowns. All-purpose back, Darren Sproles, has gotten an increased workload and he has not disappointed. He has 504 yards whether it is taking the ball out of the backfield or catching the ball. Sproles is also a great returner, mainly on punt returns. He is averaging 10.7 yards per return and has taken one back for 6 points already this season versus the Broncos. Whenever the ball is in his hands, the opposition places a heavy emphasis on him because he is a threat to always take the ball to the house. Rivers has developed into one of the best young quarterbacks in the league. The duo of Rivers and Jackson has turned into one of the greatest in the game. San Diego has become a pass-first offense. In Rivers’ first couple of years, he was prone to making mistakes. This year, he has only six interceptions through nine games. The Chargers’ coaching staff has taken the reins off him and allows him to toss the ball downfield. He is averaging 8.3 yards per attempt. Rivers is very accurate on the deep pass. Jackson and tight end Antonio Gates remain the leading receivers for the Chargers. Gates (49 receptions) and Jackson (17.0 yards per reception) can really stretch defenses out with their speed. They will need to establish the run in this game because they are on the road and Denver can also put pressure with their front seven, especially linebacker/defensive end hybrid, Elvis Dumervil. Tomlinson had his best production of the season in last week’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles with 96 rushing yards.

Broncos Defense: Like San Diego, Denver can get to the opposing quarterback with their swiftness from their edge rushers. Dumervil is tops in the league with 12 sacks. His versatility (he can line up off the line as an outside linebacker or in the 3-point stance as an end) and explosiveness causes problems for offensive lines and quarterbacks. He is the perfect fit for defensive coordinator, Mike Nolan’s scheme. Overall, the Broncos have 29 sacks. The Chargers should know this because Denver was able to get 5 sacks on Rivers. Their secondary does a great job in pass coverage. Champ Bailey has kept his standing as one of the best cover corners in the league. Their defensive backfield is filled with veterans, including Brian Dawkins. Dawkins is second in the group in tackles (53). Denver ranks 5th in passing yards allowed and 6th in touchdowns allowed. Despite having a defense that can rush the passer and great veteran defensive backs, the Broncos do not get many interceptions (7). Since their pass defense is excellent, many teams try to run the ball against the Broncos. They are 20th in rushing attempts on defense. Their run defense has given up yards, but they are very tough to score on. This defense makes the opposition earn every inch of the field. They have only given up 13 touchdowns total.

Special Teams: This area was the critical factor in the previous duel. It will be important again on Sunday. Whatever squad can produce a big play from this unit will more likely be victorious in the end. Points will be hard to come by between these two defenses.

This match-up is more crucial for the Broncos because they need to get their swagger back. The same thing as last season cannot happen again when Denver blew their divisional lead and missed the playoffs. There will be two physical squads battling like it is a postseason match.