**
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- **It's on to the Chargers, but without C.J. Anderson -- and perhaps without some other first-teamers, with four key starters set to be game-time decisions Sunday:
1. C.J. ANDERSON OUT A "SIGNIFICANT TIME"
Anderson underwent surgery Thursday, and he will miss what Kubiak termed to be "significant time," which will lead to a decision as to whether to keep him on the 53-man roster or place him on injured reserve.
"We have to look at the timeframe," Kubiak said. "So everybody's kind of putting their heads together on the timeframe. We have to see what we think is best."
Kubiak said he expected a decision by Saturday after meeting with Executive Vice President/General Manager John Elway and Head Athletic Trainer Steve Antonopulos.
Anderson's status will also impact the roster, as the Broncos need to activate Juwan Thompson from the practice squad if they are to have three running backs on the active roster, as they had in each of the first six games.
"We have some decisions to make to get three backs to gameday. Those are just things we're working through this afternoon," Kubiak said.
With Anderson out, Devontae Booker is expected to start, with Kapri Bibbs getting his share of repetitions as the Broncos look to keep the same kind of balance and freshness among their backs that they had with Booker and Anderson the last two games.
"They did really well," Kubiak said of their practice work. "'Book' has had a really good week. Kapri has had a really good week."
2. GAME-TIME DECISIONS LOOM FOR FOUR STARTERS
OLB DeMarcus Ware, ILB Brandon Marshall, CB Aqib Talib and center Matt Paradis are all listed as questionable for Sunday's game. Ware practiced each day this week, while Marshall and Talib sat out until Friday.
The Broncos' finished their on-field practice preparation for their rematch with the Chargers. (photos by Ben Swanson)
"DeMarcus has looked good," Kubiak said. "B-Marsh' got a little bit of work in today. Aqib worked pretty good today. That's something that we've been working with all week. Let's see what happens. He's had a good week."
Paradis has rested all week with a hip injury that he's "played through before," Kubiak said.
"Can Matt go play and lead our group on Sunday without practicing? Yes, there's no doubt about that," Kubiak said. "We'll see. We'll see how far he comes."
If Ware can't play, Shane Ray would continue starting at outside linebacker. Corey Nelson would start for Marshall if needed, while Bradley Roby would move up to the starting lineup if Talib sits out. Each of those lineup adjustments has been made before.
But if Paradis sits out Sunday, James Ferentz would make his first career start -- and Paradis would see his streak of consecutive offensive snaps end at 1,690, dating back to the start of last season.
**
- OF PENALTIES AND TRENDS**
The spate of penalties that has struck the Broncos in recent weeks is frustrating, but recent years have seen more penalties that at almost any point since 1990.
Through seven weeks, the league-wide averages are 14.0 penalties for 121.0 yards in each game for two teams combined, breaking down to an average of seven penalties for 60.5 yards. The penalty and penalty-yardage averages through Week 7 are the fifth-highest since 1990, with two of the worst three years coming in the last two seasons.
Further, this year is on pace to join the 2015 and 2014 seasons as the only years since 1990 in which games have averaged more than 110 yards of penalties combined between the two teams.
"We have to worry about ours, but I think it's going on around the league," Kubiak said earlier this week. "I think there are a lot of calls going on. You can look at the overall number of calls going on in a game week in and week out. We have to go address ours."
The Broncos are below average in both metrics, with 7.57 penalties (T-23rd) for 64.0 yards (18th).
As the Broncos work to remedy this issue, they can rest assured that penalty calls generally drop as the season progresses. Last season, there were 6.5 percent fewer penalties and 6.3 percent fewer penalty yards from Week 8 onward than Weeks 1-7.
Since 1990, just one season -- 2000 -- has seen the penalty rate increase after seven weeks. Since 1990, the average per-year drop in penalties called per game is 4.5 percent.
**
- WARD EXPANDS HIS ROLE**
When T.J. Ward signed with the Broncos in 2014, some regarded him as primarily a thumper against the run and on short to intermediate pass routes. But he's proven he can cover the entire field, and handle a role that includes some work in the box, and some work as one of the deep safeties to protect against the long pass.
A shuffling of sub-package duties in the wake of Justin Simmons' early-season injury further expanded the scope of Ward's responsibilities.
"The thing T.J. does that nobody understands is, he really had to change his role," Kubiak said. "We lost Simmons, we had some things going on, and T.J. is a guy that had to play a lot of different spots. But you ask certain guys to do special things, and he's a special player, so he's really having a good year."
5. A.J. DERBY HAS "COME ALONG WELL"
But that does not necessarily mean that the newest Bronco will be in the lineup Sunday.
"We went from not many tight ends to a bunch of them, so we have to make a decision on who we're going to suit," Kubiak said.
"We're going to try to get him going as quick as possible. Does that mean this week? I don't know. We'll see."
A look at a few of the matchups that could decide Sunday's rematch between the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos. (Photos by AP)
In 10 career games against the San Diego Chargers, Von Miller has racked up 11 sacks, including three in the two contests the Broncos played against the Chargers last season. Miller is off to a torrid start to the 2016 season with 6.5 sacks through the first five weeks of the season as he continues a six-game sack streak. Philip Rivers, one of the league's best quarterbacks, is capable of tearing up a defense if given the time. Miller will do his best to make sure Rivers doesn't get that luxury.
Chris Harris Jr. got the best of Travis Benjamin in the first matchup between the two teams as he held the Chargers WR to just three receptions for 17 yards. The Broncos will need to crack down on the tight ends a bit more in this contest, but it remains incredibly important for the cornerbacks to continue to limit the threats on the outside. If Harris and the rest of the Broncos secondary can hold the Chargers' receiving threats to the same type of output, Denver should find itself in position to pull out a home win.
Trevor Siemian and the offense will look to maintain more balance as an offense in this matchup against the Chargers. In the first meeting, Siemian completed 30 of his 50 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown. The Broncos will need to start faster, however, as they managed just 60 yards of offense in the first half. He'll again need to beware of fifth-year player Melvin Ingram. The Chargers' linebacker is following up a 10.5-sack season with a strong start to 2016. He racked up six tackles against the Broncos two weeks ago and tacked on a sack against Atlanta last week. His matchup with Siemian could prove paramount in the Broncos' quest to flip the script.
With Donald Stephenson back on the line, the running game got back on track against the Texans as C.J. Anderson and Devontae Booker combined for 190 yards. But Stephenson's ability to stop the pass rush will be just as important. Rookie Joey Bosa didn't pick up any sacks against the Broncos in Week 6, but he grabbed two against the Falcons and now has four in two weeks. After an offseason of drama for the young player, he looked strong in his first action of the year. In fact, he looked like everything the Chargers could've wanted when they spent the high draft pick on him. Stephenson will have his hands full as he attempts to slow the dynamic pass rusher.
After a disappointing rookie season without scoring a single touchdown, Gordon has rebounded with 10 touchdowns to lead the NFL through the opening 7 games. With a healthier offensive line and more experience under his belt, Gordon has become a veritable weapon for the Chargers. The Broncos will continue to watch Gordon as a threat out of the backfield, and if Brandon Marshall misses Sunday's game, Todd Davis must step up alongside Corey Nelson.
