DENVER – A look at the Denver Broncos players who were “up" and those were “down” during the 2015 regular season:
UP
Brandon Marshall: Marshall only played two snaps on defense in Sunday’s win over the San Diego Chargers because of an ankle injury as the Broncos will try to get him ready for their playoff opener. But many personnel executives around the league believe Marshall played at a Pro Bowl level this season and he's a key sideline-to-sideline, every-down player on the league's No. 1 defense.
Danny Trevathan: The list of defensive players who had quality seasons for the Broncos in the regular season is a long one with four Pro Bowl selections (Aqib Talib, Chris Harris Jr., Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware), but Trevathan’s body of work deserves a long look. After three separate left leg injuries in 2014 caused him to close the season on injured reserve, Trevathan finished as the Broncos’ tackles leader with 110.
Brock Osweiler: He likely deserved better Sunday, but in the football life, the quarterback gets to ride the wave of victory and often deal with the struggles of others as well as his own. It comes with the job. But the fact remains the Broncos wouldn’t be the AFC’s No. 1 seed if the 25-year-old wasn’t ready to play when they needed him to be. And if the Broncos pull another one-and-done in the postseason, you can believe some -- fairly or not -- will point back to how the quarterback shuffle went this season.
DOWN
Michael Schofield: Schofield has the look of a player whose confidence is battered and his play has suffered because of it. The right tackle has struggled in pass protection and made mistakes as a starter he did not make as often in practices. The Broncos replaced him Sunday with Tyler Polumbus in the same series they sent Peyton Manning into the game.
Britton Colquitt: Colquitt is 20th in the league in net punting (39.5 yards per punt), 28th in gross punting (43.6 yards per punt) and 23rd in punts inside the 20 (21 punts). He’s been a weapon for the Broncos and now, in a time of year when field position is even more important, they will need him to find that level again.
Injuries: The look on safety Darian Stewart’s face said it all Sunday. When he limped to the sideline after tossing his mouthpiece to the ground, it was clear he had injured his hamstring again. He will now be a question mark for the playoffs at a position where the Broncos have David Bruton Jr. on injured reserve. T.J. Ward missed three December games with an injured ankle. Outside linebacker Ware also left Sunday’s game with a knee injury; he already missed five games this season with a back injury.
