ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Colorado Avalanche looked tired after one period Friday night, but one of their new goaltenders kept them afloat until the rest of the club found enough energy to grind out a win.

That script has been a familiar one during the toughest stretch of schedule the Avs have faced, and these might prove to be incredibly valuable. Scott Wedgewood made 29 saves, the Avalanche rebounded to fend off the Anaheim Ducks, 4-2, at Honda Center.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, while Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen and Valeri Nichushkin had two points each. Wedgewood, along with Mackenzie Blackwood, has repeatedly provided a level of consistent goaltending the club had been lacking. The overall play for the Avs is not near its peak, and a season full of injuries combined with a stretch of 13 road games in the past 17 contests has likely played a part in that. But they have now won six of eight, and are a season-high five games better than .500 (20-15-0).

This game may have turned on a bad-luck play … for the Avs. Anaheim defenseman Olen Zellweger clipped MacKinnon in the face with his stick and was sent to the penalty box for high sticking. The officials conferred and decided to wipe away the infraction. It looked from multiple replay angles that MacKinnon was hit by the puck after Keaton Middleton tried to clear it out of danger, but a zoomed-out angle showed that Zellweger clearly got the reigning MVP ahead of the puck.

So, with the Avs down a goal and trying to kill off a penalty, the hockey gods evened out the fortune. Zellweger stumbled near the top of the Anaheim offensive zone, which allowed Logan O’Connor to spring Parker Kelly for a breakaway and a shorthanded goal at 6:40 of the second. It was Kelly’s third goal of the season and Colorado’s second of the year while shorthanded.

Valeri Nichushkin put the Avalanche in front midway through the second. Anaheim goalie John Gibson didn’t handle a Makar shot cleanly, and Nichushkin was waiting at the doorstep for one of the easiest goals he’s going to score. It was his 10th of the season in just 18 games played.

Colorado’s power play came to California mired in a 5-for-48 slump, but the Avs scored twice with the extra man Thursday night in San Jose and struck again for an insurance goal early in the third against Anaheim. MacKinnon started the play with a rare dump-in from the neutral zone. Rantanen kept the Ducks’ clearing attempt in the offensive zone, and then MacKinnon found Makar with a cross-ice pass for the defenseman’s 10th goal of the year at 3:30 of the third.

The Avalanche survived the first period, but only because Wedgewood was stellar. Colorado looked like a team playing on the road for the 13th time in 17 games, and like a club playing for the second straight night against a rested team. Anaheim had nearly 80% of the expected goals and seven of the eight high-danger chances in the opening 20 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick.

Beyond Kelly’s goal, the Avs’ penalty kill has also surged since completing the double goaltending switch. Colorado killed off five Anaheim power plays in this one, including one in the final four minutes. The Avs are now 20 for 21 on the kill since swapping Alexandar Georgiev for Mackenzie Blackwood.

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When it looked like the Colorado Rapids were out of cards to deal in the MLS SuperDraft on Friday afternoon, they pulled a few more out of the sleeve.

In the first round alone, the club made three trades to turn the No. 8 pick, up to $312,500 in General Allocation Money (GAM) and a 2025 international roster slot into picks Nos. 4, 6 and 12 and $75,000 in 2026 GAM.

For the second straight year, sophomores and juniors were eligible for selection under new rules implemented last fall. Last year, the Rapids made use of that flexibility and brought in a player from both classes with top-five picks. They also drafted freshman Kimani Stewart-Baynes, a Generation Adidas player.

This year was no different. In the first round, during which the Rapids made five picks, the club selected a sophomore Generation Adidas forward, two junior defenders, a sophomore midfielder and another sophomore forward.

To conclude the draft, the Rapids made a second-round pick and three third-round selections. As it stands, all but two or three will immediately join the club for preseason, which begins on Jan. 11.

According to Rapids President Pádraig Smith, the club hit on six of the top 10 players on its draft board.

Here’s a look at the 2025 SuperDraft class for the Rapids:

Round 1

No. 4 — Alex Harris, F, so., Cornell: The second-to-last Generation Adidas player off the board, Harris can score goals with the best of them. In two years at Cornell, he had 31 goals and nine assists while converting eight of nine penalties.

As a freshman, he was unanimously voted Ivy League rookie of the year. This season, he was one of two sophomores in the country to be named a MAC Hermann Award semifinalist.

“He knows where the ball is going to go and he does everything in his power to get to that spot,” Smith said. “He’s a little menace, his work rate is terrific and he’s got to be a nightmare to defend.”

He ranked second in the nation in goals and points per game behind Akron senior Emil Jaaskelainen (taken seventh overall).

No. 6 — Matthew Senanou, D, jr., Xavier: The Rapids continued their trend of going after big defenders.

Senanou, a 6-foot-4, 214-pound junior, was the anchor of a defense that gave up just more than a goal per game this season.

The club was enamored with his personality, too. In his interview with the club, Smith said Senanou brought up how much of a fan he is of former Rapids center back Moïse Bombito — the Rapids’ third overall pick in 2023 who sold for an MLS-record $7.7 million this summer — and how he dreams of a similar career path. Smith has said in the past that Bombito’s pre-draft interview was the best he’d ever had. Senanou’s is now in that conversation.

No. 12 — Efetobo Aror, M, so., Portland: Aror played 10 games in 2024 before a torn meniscus cost him the rest of his season. A defensive midfielder by nature, he scored one goal before the November injury and notched an assist.

The injury and his time with a smaller-caliber program in Portland may have caused him to drop in the draft, but Smith felt he had to get a move done at the time to get the No. 12 pick and ultimately Aror.

“Based on our scouts’ opinions and the work they had done, Aror was the standout six (rather than top pick Manu Duah),” Smith said. “You look at the video and just the explosiveness, the ability on the ball and the profile, it was a no-brainer for us.”

In a trade with Austin FC, the Rapids gave up a 2025 international roster slot in exchange for the pick and $75,000 in 2026 GAM.

No. 16 — Sydney Wathuta, F, so., Vermont: With the ball at his feet, 2024 NCAA national champion Sydney Wathuta can do it all. In the national semifinal against DU, Wathuta gave the Pioneers’ defense fits.

He can carry the ball while waiting for plays to develop, make turns in tight areas to free up space and find passes the recipient sometimes may not even know was there.

The ultimate play-maker, Wathuta ranked second in the nation with 14 assists this year to go with a goal.

No. 26 — Josh Copeland, M, so., Detroit Mercy: Another small-school standout, Copeland was a lock to be selected by the Rapids. The club had been in discussions with the Michigan native for “quite some time” before the draft and promised to pick him.

While the sophomore doesn’t have accolades or stats that jump off the page — he recorded three goals and five assists in 17 games this year — the Rapids see something in the 6-foot-3 midfielder they think they can build on.

Round 2

No. 38 — Charlie Harper, D, jr., North Carolina: Harper had another pre-draft interview that left Smith impressed.

Not exactly a surprise given his story: Born in Melbourne, Australia, Harper attended high school in Japan and moved to the U.S. to play college soccer. His UNC biography says he holds citizenship in Australia, Japan and England. Oh, and he’s fluent in Japanese.

According to Smith, he’s very good with both feet and has a solid 6-foot-2 frame. He scored one goal in 2024.

Round 3

No. 62 — Donavan Phillip, M/F, so., NC State: An in-state rival of Harper, Phillip scored six goals and dished out four assists in 2024. The Saint Lucia native would count as an international on the roster.

At this stage, Smith said it’s not certain whether Phillip will return to college or join the team come January, but the club wants the latter.

No. 68 — Shawn Smart, D, Las Vegas Lights: Smart was the only player selected who is not coming from a college. The Las Vegas Lights, a USL Championship team, has the 20-year-old under contract through the 2025 season, meaning the Rapids drafted Smart’s MLS rights and the right of first refusal once his contract ends.

In 33 games last year with the Lights, Smart notched two goals and an assist on the way to the Western Conference final, where they lost to eventual champions Colorado Springs.

Smart won’t join the Rapids this year, but Smith said he likes it that way. With a revolving door of defenders coming and going, the club thinks it’s best for a player like Smart to continue developing and getting USL Championship-level experience.

No. 75 — Matthew Van Horn, F, so., Georgetown: A fun fact: Van Horn is native to North Pole, Alaska.

The 6-foot sophomore, who scored six goals and had three assists with Georgetown in 2024, is the only sure-fire player to return to school for at least another year.

Another fun fact: His Hoyas were seeded fourth in the NCAA Tournament this year and were upset by Phillip’s unranked Wolfpack in the second round.

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One of the trademarks of the Colorado women’s basketball team in the past few years has been its ability to embrace the underdog role and rise to every challenge.

The roster this season is vastly different, but fifth-year senior Frida Formann believes that mentality hasn’t changed.

“Yeah, I think so,” she said as the Buffaloes prepared this week for Saturday’s Big 12 Conference opener against No. 14-ranked West Virginia. “It’s not like anyone in the Big 12, from the media’s perspective or anything, is expecting us to do big things. So we are naturally just an underdog.

“Then I think we’ve really been working on that, just, attack mentality of like, anyone who comes into our house, or every time we step in someone else’s house, we want to win. It doesn’t matter what they’re ranked or all that stuff. I think every game in this conference is very winnable, for sure.”

Despite back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in the past two years, CU was projected for a ninth-place finish in its return season to the Big 12. That is, in large part, because the Buffaloes feature 10 new players.

The new-look Buffs now have 11 games under their belt, however, and head coach JR Payne believes her team is ready for conference play.

“Definitely ready,” she said. “We’re very excited. I thought the preseason was good and challenging, lots of road games and challenging things, but we’re really excited to get going.”

West Virginia is one of three ranked teams in the Big 12 – just behind No. 12 TCU and No. 13 Kansas State – and the Buffs are eager to jump into the fire, rather than easing into conference play.

“We always love a challenge, and we’re always glad to play at home, like every team in the country,” Payne said. “So, we might as well play one of the best right off the bat.”

The only returning starter from last year, Formann has been a part of a lot of big games with the Buffs, including several victories against ranked opponents.

CU lost its only previous game this year against a ranked team, 79-71 against then-No. 24 Louisville on Nov. 30 in Boulder, but it was one of its better games, minus about three minutes.

The Buffs led that game, 57-56, with 7 minutes, 20 seconds to play before the wheels fell off, as Louisville went on a 16-0 run during a stretch of 3:02. During the other 37 minutes of the game, CU outscored the Cardinals 71-63.

“When we had that Louisville game and played against another Power Five team, the energy we had – we shouldn’t play down to our opponent or anything, but it’s just really fun to play good opponents that have really great players, good coaching,” Formann said. “So I’m just really excited to do that every single week (in the Big 12), and really getting into our prep, executing scout, really caring about all that stuff. Just very excited for that to start.”

Formann is also eager to see how this version of the Buffs responds to a significant challenge before the holiday break.

“We get them at home, and I think we’re great at home,” she said. “You know us from past years, we don’t really back down from a challenge. Being the underdog is fine with us. I think it’s honestly perfect for us, them coming here right before Christmas. It’ll be good.”

CU Buffs women’s basketball vs. No. 14 West Virginia

TIPOFF: Saturday, 6 p.m., CU Events Center

TV/RADIO: ESPN+/KHOW 630 AM

RECORDS: Colorado 9-2; West Virginia 10-1

COACHES: Colorado — JR Payne, 9th season (152-104; 253-217 career). West Virginia — Mark Kellogg, 2nd season (35-9; 480-129 career).

KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — F Nyamer Diew, 6-2, Sr. (7.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg); G Frida Formann, 5-10, Sr. (14.1 ppg, 2.6 apg, .439 3Pt%); F Lior Garzon, 6-1, Sr. (12.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg); F Jade Masogayo, 6-3, Jr. (10.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.2 apg, .554 FG%); G Sara-Rose Smith, 6-1, Sr. (7.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, .368 3pt%); G Johanna Teder, 5-11, Sr. (5.5 ppg, 2.2 apg, .548 FG%); G Kindyll Wetta, 5-9, Sr. (5.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 6.8 apg, 2.1 spg). West Virginia — F Kylee Blacksten, 6-3, Sr. (7.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg); G Jordan Harrison, 5-6, Jr. (15.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.8 spg, .438 3pt%); G JJ Quinerly, 5-8, Sr. (17.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.9 spg); G Sydney Shaw, 5-9, Jr. (12.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.3 spg, .439 3pt%); F Jordan Thomas, 6-3, Fr. (8.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, .621 FG%); G Kyah Watson, 5-10, Sr. (6.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 3.1 spg).

NOTES: The Buffs bring a three-game winning streak into their first Big 12 game in more than 13 years. CU spent the past 13 seasons in the Pac-12. … The Buffs were 4-9 in Pac-12 openers and went 7-8 in Big 12 openers during their first stint in the league (1996-2011). … This is the first-ever meeting between CU and West Virginia. The Mountaineers joined the Big 12 in 2012, a year after CU left. … Wetta and her backup at the point, Kennedy Sanders, have missed the past two games with concussions, but they are expected to play on Saturday. … This will be CU’s only game in about a three-week stretch. The Buffs haven’t played since Dec. 10 against Denver and won’t play again until Jan. 1 at TCU. … This will be CU’s second game against a ranked opponent this season. The Buffs lost to then-No. 24 Louisville, 79-71, on Nov. 30 in Boulder. … West Virginia has won two in a row since its only loss, 78-73 to No. 5 Texas on Dec. 1 in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. … CU and WVU have one common opponent this year: Boise State. The Buffs lost at Boise State, 50-47, on Nov. 10, while the WVU routed the Broncos, 82-47 on Nov. 30 at the Gulf Coast Showcase. … Kellogg’s first head coaching job came at Fort Lewis College in Durango from 2005-12, going 173-46. … Blacksten, an Air Academy High School graduate, played her first two seasons at CU before transferring to WVU before the 22-23 season.

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Throughout a six-year college football career, LaVonta Bentley has seen just about everything.

He’s been to the College Football Playoff and endured a six-game losing streak to cap a disappointing season. He’s been a backup and a star.

It’s certainly been a roller-coaster ride, but Bentley was all smiles this week knowing his college career will end in a bowl game. He and the 20th-ranked Buffaloes (9-3) will face No. 17 BYU (10-2) in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 in San Antonio (5:30 p.m. MT, ABC).

“I think every game is a big game, especially this time of the year,” the Buffaloes’ senior linebacker said. “Not making (a bowl game) last year, that was kind of tough, but getting back to one, that’s always great because those games are what most of the fans want to watch and see. We’re just blessed to be in that position.”

Bentley began his career playing four seasons (2019-22) at Clemson, one of the top programs in the country. Although he was redshirting in 2019, the Tigers went 14-1 and reached the College Football Playoff (CFP) national title game.

From 2020-22, Bentley helped Clemson go 31-8 with three more bowl appearances, including a trip to the CFP final four in 2020.

Although productive when he played, Bentley was a reserve linebacker at Clemson and came to CU in 2023 looking for a better opportunity. He found it and hasn’t looked back.

“Is there a better version of what college football should look like than LaVonta Bentley? He gives his all every play,” CU defensive coordinator Robert Livingston said.

A rock in the middle of the Buffs’ defense, Bentley has started every game this season, posting 49 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack and two fumble recoveries. In 2023, the Buffs weren’t nearly as good on defense, but Bentley shined with 68 tackles, 11 TFLs and five sacks.

While he spent most of his collegiate career at Clemson, Bentley said he will always take pride in being a Buff.

“Oh, a lot of pride, man,” he said. “My last ride, my last game here. I came here for a reason, and, man, I built some great relationships with the coaches, the players and all that. So it’s definitely big on me to see the people they’re bringing in, what they’re gonna do going forward.”

At Clemson, Bentley joined a program that was already established as a national power. But at CU, he joined a program that was completely rebuilding under head coach Deion Sanders, who arrived in Boulder in December of 2022. Bentley has been one of the foundational pieces of that build.

“That’s very big,” he said. “I’m big on the process, and that’s what it takes. That’s what it took, to get from the season last year (going 4-8) to this season. And I know the future is real, real bright here. So that’s what it is, a process to work.”

Bentley’s time in college football will end with the Alamo Bowl – the sixth bowl game of his career, which leads the team – but his process isn’t done. He’s got his eye on the NFL and will turn his focus to draft prep after the game against BYU.

“I’m trying not to get too much in my head knowing it’s the last one (in college), so I just be trying to bloom where I’m planted,” he said. “I know this isn’t going to be the last of me playing ball. I know God got my back and I know the opportunity he placed in front of me, so I just got to attack it.”

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — In the days leading up to Denver’s win-and-in, prime-time tilt against the Chargers on Thursday night, Sean Payton and the Broncos knew several things about the state of their run game.

First, they’d lacked consistency this season.

Second, they’d need it down the stretch to get where they’re trying to go.

And, finally, they’d be operating without Jaleel McLaughlin (quad) when they took on Jim Harbaugh’s team.

The numbers coming in weren’t pretty.

Over the previous five games, Denver averaged 84.9 rushing yards per game.

In that span, Javonte Williams rushed nine times for 59 against Atlanta but in the other four he totaled 15 yards on 19 carries.

The anemic production hadn’t hurt Denver badly — they had every chance to win at Kansas City in Week 10 and then won four straight — but it lurked as a potential problem.

Payton put his aim in bold print. Literally.

Atop his play sheet Thursday night, he wrote, “Run It!!!”

Early on, the Broncos did. Kitchen sink style.

First play: Rookie Audric Estime off the right side for 6 yards. Then WIlliams to the left for 6. Then a pitch to jack-of-all-trades Marvin Mims Jr. for 3.

Williams winded for 15 on third-and-2. Undrafted rookie Blake Watson made his NFL debut and churned for 7.

Estime, the fifth-round rookie out of Notre Dame, punched in a 3-yard touchdown, waltzing in behind right guard Quinn Meinerz and right tackle Mike McGlinchey, who caved down the Chargers’ defensive front.

“The first drive was the rhythm we wanted, the tempo we wanted,” Payton said.

Next drive? More of the same. And another touchdown.

The Broncos ran it 11 times for 73 yards on their opening two drives.

Then the well dried up. Fast.

Denver over the rest of the game ran just 10 times for 37 yards to finish with 21 for 110. They also, of course, let a 21-10 lead in the final seconds of the first half slip away into a 34-27 loss.

“In the second half, we get some pressure looks when they’re playing from behind,” Payton said. “We just didn’t sustain it enough and, certainly, I’ve got to look at each series, ‘Hey, with some of these looks, what are the sum of the runs?’ We had plenty of work on the run game going into the game.”

The dramatic turnaround had an eerily similar feel to Week 2 last year when Payton’s Broncos jumped out to a 21-3 lead over Washington. Before Thursday, that was the last time Denver had scored touchdowns on its first three drives to open a game.

That September afternoon, Denver had 10 carries for 64 yards on its first three drives and 12 for 76 before a Russell Wilson fumble late in the half turned the tide toward the Commanders. Washington eventually won that game 35-33. The Broncos finished that game with 23 carries for 122 yards.

A couple of weeks after that, Denver rushed 12 times for 115 in the first half against the Jets and built a slim lead but then went away from the ground entirely, netting just 24 yards in the second half of a 31-21 loss.

“I know better,” he said then. “I have to be more patient relative to how we run the ball, and it was that type of game.”

The 2024 Broncos are a different team but Payton may get a similar sentiment watching the film from this one. He knew it had to be a focus on the short week. Even wrote it on his play sheet. His offense dictated early on. Then let it get away.

The effect was palpable. The Broncos are built around their veteran offensive line. That group reveled in the early game bully ball. McGlinchey grabbed Estime by the helmet and screamed with joy after an early run. And then it evaporated.

The task over the final two regular-season games is two-fold: Stick with what works and stick with who works.

By the end of Thursday night’s game, the playing time looked like this: Williams 52%, Estime 20% and Watson 16%, though that got tilted late because Denver trusts Williams most in pass protecting and Denver found itself chasing points.

Estime finished with nine carries for 48 yards and the touchdown and, according to Next Gen Stats, finished with 15 yards over expected. That’s more than Williams has logged in any game this season, though the fourth-year man from North Carolina did have 6 over expected on four carries Thursday night.

There’s more that goes into being a running back than carrying the ball, but Estime’s rushing numbers are better than Williams’ in just about every category. He’s averaging 4.6 yards to Williams’ 3.6. He’s averaging 0.6 yards over expected per carry to Williams minus-0.3. He’s at 3.9 yards after contact per rush compared to Williams’ 2.7.

The NFL is a week-to-week league, but how Payton designs and implements his run plan the next two weeks will go a long way toward determining whether his team makes noise after that.

One small thing I liked: Welcome back, Drew Sanders. The Broncos’ second-year linebacker played his first defensive snap since tearing his Achilles in April and made the most of it. He shot through the middle and sacked Justin Herbert on an important third down midway through the fourth quarter.

What’s also interesting: Sanders went through warmups with the inside linebackers after it looked like he’d return to action this fall as an edge player.

The Broncos have good depth at outside linebacker, including a quality second line in Dondrea Tillman and Jonah Elliss. They don’t have that kind of depth and certainly not Sanders’ athleticism in the middle.

Denver could risk stunting Sanders’ development if they keep moving him back and forth, but a team with playoff aspirations is going to do what can help immediately. That’s getting the 2023 third-round pick on the field in pass-rush situations. Can he give Vance Joseph’s group more than that in the middle of the field? Seems like a long shot, but it’s not impossible he gets a chance after the starting group of Cody Barton and Justin Strnad struggled against the Chargers.

One small thing I didn’t like: We covered it some Thursday night as well, but the end-of-half playcalling sequence for Denver with 41 seconds remaining was a baffling one.

Payton explained it spot on.

“Typically, you’d be pretty conservative,” he said. “We were going to have the ball (to start the second half).”

The Chargers were going to let the half run out after a first-down screen went for minus-3. The Broncos didn’t have to even run a second-down play. They didn’t call timeout but they also rushed to the line of scrimmage and snapped the ball with 13 seconds left from their own 15-yard line. To what end? Why? Denver led by 11. They were getting the ball to start the third quarter. Rookie quarterback, on the road, trying to clinch a postseason spot. There just wasn’t a need to try to play fast from that spot on the field.

No doubt, the execution on the punt/fair catch/penalty/free kick sequence was bad. But it didn’t need to get to that point in the first place.

One trend to watch: Let’s set up the weekend scoreboard watching. Even if the Broncos lose their final two games, they’d essentially be a coin flip to make the playoffs.

The rooting guide is pretty easy for Broncos fans: Cheer against Cincinnati, Miami and Indianapolis. If each of those teams loses or ties over the final three weekends, Denver’s in regardless of its final two games. If either the Dolphins or Bengals win out and the Broncos drop their final two, Denver will be out.

The Colts can only get in with a three-way tie at 9-8 but they do have a manageable final three games. The Bengals play Cleveland, the Broncos and then Pittsburgh. The Dolphins have San Francisco, Cleveland and the Jets.

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Here’s a look at whose stock improved or declined after the Broncos’ 34-27 loss to the Chargers on Thursday at SoFi Stadium.

Stock Up

OLB Dondrea Tillman: Denver’s first-year edge rusher has continued to be an intriguing story for the Broncos this season. Tillman, who signed in the offseason after starring for the Birmingham Stallions in the United Football League, logged his fourth sack of the season when he took down quarterback Justin Herbert for a 10-yard loss in the third quarter. Although Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen and Jonathon Cooper have been the driving forces for one of the league’s best pass-rush units, Tillman’s impact shouldn’t be overlooked. He has totaled 19 pressures in 10 games, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

Safety Brandon Jones: The Broncos’ starting safety had another strong performance. Jones had 10 tackles and forced an incompletion in the third quarter after he delivered a hit on wide receiver Josh Palmer to disrupt Herbert’s pass attempt. The former Dolphin has recorded 101 tackles and three interceptions in 2024. He is the first Broncos safety since Hall of Famer Steve Atwater in 1995 to record at least 100 tackles and three interceptions in a season.

RB Audric Estime: Denver’s rookie running back showed once again why he deserves more carries. Estime had a touchdown and averaged 5.3 yards on nine carries against the Chargers. He also had a success rate (percentage of carries resulting in positive EPA) of 55.6%, according to Next Gen Stats.

LB Drew Sanders: The second-year linebacker made his first defensive snap of the season count. With 7:26 to go in the fourth, the third-round pick slipped past Los Angeles’ offensive line on a blitz and sacked Justin Herbert for an 11-yard loss. The play was even more impressive when considering Sanders tore his Achilles in the spring.

Stock Down

ILB Justin Strnad: Denver’s inside linebacker had a performance to forget. In addition to getting flagged for a late hit on Justin Herbert in the third quarter, Strnad was picked apart in coverage. He gave up seven catches for 103 yards on eight targets as the nearest defender vs. the Chargers, according to Next Gen Stats. Even if the late-hit flag was ticky-tack, that’s not good enough.

Denver’s pass rush: Outside of sacks from Drew Sanders and Dondrea Tillman, Los Angeles’ offensive line had the upper hand against Denver’s pass rush. The Broncos had 13 pressures against the Chargers. Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto was silenced after two straight weeks in the national spotlight. Bonitto had one pressure on 21 pass rush snaps. He was lined up against Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater for a good part of the game and couldn’t get anything going. Slater gave up a pressure rate of 5.6% in 18 matchups against Denver’s third-year edge rusher.

Bo Nix: Denver’s rookie quarterback threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns, but it still felt like he could’ve done more. He finished with an average air yards per attempt of 3.3 yards against the Chargers, the second-shortest average passing depth in a game by a quarterback this season with at least 20 passes, according to Next Gen Stats. The lowest came from Panthers’ Bryce Young, who had 3.0 air yards per attempt against the Chargers defense in Week 2.

Broncos vs. winning teams: Even though Denver is in the midst of its best season since 2015, there’s one glaring issue that has plagued the team. After the Broncos’ loss to the Chargers, they are 1-6 against teams that are above .500. However, they are 8-0 against those that are .500 or better.

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By ANDREW DAMPF

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — How fast can she go on her titanium knee? And how competitive will she be?

Those are the big questions surrounding Lindsey Vonn’s comeback to World Cup ski racing this weekend at age 40 after nearly six years of retirement.

“It’s a question that’s been going through my head a lot over the last week,” said Chris Knight, Vonn’s personal coach. “She’s not far away.”

Vonn is slated to race super-Gs on Saturday and Sunday in St. Moritz.

While Vonn has won a record 28 World Cup super-Gs, including three at the Swiss resort, calculating her current potential is not an exact science.

During two lower-level FIS super-G races in Copper Mountain, Colorado, two weeks ago, she finished 24th and 19th. Although not too much should be read into those results, because Vonn’s main goal was just completing the race with a half-decent time to gain the necessary qualifying points to return to the World Cup — which she accomplished.

A better guide might be last weekend’s World Cup races in Beaver Creek, Colorado, when Vonn was the final forerunner testing the course.

Knight said that Vonn’s forerunning times were 1.2 seconds behind downhill winner Cornelia Huetter and 1.4 behind super-G winner Sofia Goggia — which would have placed her about 12th in both races.

But Vonn said she wasn’t going 100% during her forerunning duties.

“She’s still got a lot left. She can push a lot harder,” Knight told The Associated Press as he arrived in St. Moritz. “Once she gets in the start gate with the bib on, she’s going to go obviously as hard as she can.”

Wind and starting positions are usually big factors in St. Moritz

Under a new wild card rule for former champions, Vonn will start after the top 30 ranked racers complete their runs — likely with No. 31 or No. 32.

The Engiadina course in St. Moritz is entirely above the tree line, which makes it susceptible to strong and sudden gusts of wind.

“Maybe starting No. 31 won’t be so bad with those long flats at the top, to get some of that fresh snow off the track. Speed it up a little bit,” Knight said.

Sun is forecast for Saturday, with overcast conditions and possibly some snow on Sunday.

By the time Vonn comes down, Goggia, Olympic champion Lara Gut-Behrami and the other top racers will have already come down.

Mikaela Shiffrin, who shares the record of five wins in St. Moritz across all disciplines with Vonn, isn’t racing this weekend as she recovers from abdominal surgery to clean out a puncture wound she sustained in a crash last month.

Vonn left the tour with 82 World Cup wins — the record for a woman at the time and within reach of the then all-time Alpine mark of 86 held by Swedish standout Ingemar Stenmark. The women’s record held by Vonn was eclipsed in January 2023 by Shiffrin, who now has an outright record 99 wins.

‘She’s a better skier right now,” than when she retired, her coach says

Vonn’s last big race was the downhill at the world championships in Are, Sweden, in February 2019 when she won bronze on her damaged legs, which had been worn down by a series of crashes and injuries that forced her to retire.

But she underwent replacement surgery on her right knee in April and is feeling better physically now than she has in years.

“She’s in way, way better balance than she was back then,” Knight said. “This knee is in incredible shape now. She has no swelling, no pain. And for the first three camps — July, September and November, I never saw out of balance once, which is pretty impressive.”

Knight, who also coached Vonn within the U.S. Ski Team during various phases of her earlier career, first heard rumblings about her return a year ago. Then in May as Vonn was healing from the surgery, they drew out a comeback plan with Knight in his new role as a Red Bull coach. She first hit the snow on the glacier in Soelden, Austria, in July. Then they went to New Zealand, back to Soelden and ultimately finished the prep period in Colorado.

“She’s a better skier right now. A better balanced skier than I remember at the end of her last season,” Knight said. “You’ll see it when you start watching.”

The biggest challenge for Vonn has been her new equipment

“The boots are new — it’s a completely different model,” Vonn said. “Those things are the fine details that you need to have dialed in to really be at the top of ski racing. Fundamentally I’m in a great place, and now it’s just fine tuning to be able to be truly competitive.”

Vonn’s longtime ski technician Heinz Haemmerle retired, so her equipment supplier Head assigned her Chris Krause, who formerly worked for Didier Cuche and Bode Miller.

“He’s very, very particular with the equipment,” Knight said. “And Lindsey really likes that.”

___

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Tremon Smith placed himself on the wrong side of history in Denver’s 34-27 loss to the Chargers on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium.

Lined up as a gunner with eight seconds left in the second quarter, Smith raced upfield after Riley Dixon’s punt. But rather than pull up after the Chargers’ Derius Davis signaled a fair catch, he grazed the returner’s leg and caused him to fall to the turf.

The result: A 15-yard interference penalty that gave the Chargers an untimed down at Denver’s 47-yard line

“The returner did a good job of selling it, just running into me even though he wasn’t going to catch the ball,” Smith said. “… Dumb penalty.”

What followed hadn’t happened in nearly five decades.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh took advantage of an obscure rule and attempted a fair-catch free kick. Los Angeles’ special teams trotted onto the field and kicker Cameron Dicker drilled a 57-yard field goal that by rule Denver wasn’t allowed to try to block — the first successful fair-catch free kick since 1976.

What could have been an 11-point halftime lead was instead whittled down to 21-13. Los Angeles then went on to outscore the Broncos 21-6 in the final two quarters to secure the win, snap Denver’s four-game win streak and put the Broncos’ playoff hopes temporarily on ice.

Broncos coach Sean Payton said Smith’s penalty “wasn’t smart.”

“The penalty put them in field goal position,” he added. “So it’s disappointing.”

According to Rule 10, Section 2, Article 4 of the NFL Rulebook, after a fair catch is made or is awarded as the result of fair catch interference, the receiving team has the option of putting the ball in play by a snap or fair catch kick (drop kick or place kick without a tee) from the spot of the catch or succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties.

Smith’s penalty gave Harbaugh an opportunity to put three points on the board. Dicker entered Thursday’s divisional matchup 8 for 9 (88.8%) on field goal attempts from 50-plus yards this season and 15 for 18 (83.3%) in the last two years. Without having to worry about Denver trying to block the ball, Dicker made his game-changing kick with ease.

“That’s something we talked about in our special teams group,” wide receiver and returner Marvin Mims Jr. said. “We all knew that was going to happen and (the Chargers) executed to perfection.”

There were a handful of reasons Denver lost to Los Angeles for the second time in 2024. The run game disappeared after an inspiring start. And the defense left receivers running open in the secondary multiple times, including Chargers rookie Ladd McConkey, who finished with six catches for 87 yards. But Denver’s seven penalties, especially the one from Smith, were the tipping point of Payton’s frustration.

Smith’s penalty wasn’t even the only flag that directly led to Chargers points.

Linebacker Justin Strnad hit a sliding Justin Herbert on third down in the red zone, drawing a roughing penalty that gave the Chargers first-and-goal at the Denver 5-yard line. Gus Edwards ran in a touchdown one play later to pull L.A. within five at 24-19.

One possession after that, the Broncos committed three penalties on a 7-play, 78-yard Chargers scoring drive that put them ahead 27-24 in the fourth quarter. That included Jonathon Cooper’s horse collar tackle of Herbert on a seemingly doomed play-action pass that gave L.A. the ball at midfield.

“It keeps continuing,” said Payton, who’d previously intimated that the team’s penalty numbers were problematic coming out of the bye week. “We gotta do a better job coaching because it’s not like it’s new.”

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OFFENSE — C-

The contrast could not have been more stark. The Broncos came out blistering hot, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions. They bullied the ball down the field. They used several ball-carriers. They did anything they wanted. And then… just about nothing. One effective drive to open the third quarter. But overall a possession chart that looked like this: Punt, punt, field goal, punt, punt, punt, field goal. They rolled to 212 net yards on their first three drives and then had just 124 on seven subsequent possessions. That won’t get it done.

DEFENSE — D

Don’t look now, but Vance Joseph’s defense is suddenly stuck in a rut. The past three games have included surrendering 552 yards to Cleveland, a slow start (but dominant finish) against Indianapolis and then a 34-point night at the Chargers on Thursday. They’d only given up 92 points in the second half through the first 14 games this year and surrendered 21 against Justin Herbert and company. More concerning: They busted several times in coverage, allowing Chargers receiver Ladd McConkey and others to run wide open in the middle of the field. All in all, a bad night at the office and now a big challenge with a dynamite Cincinnati offense up next on the docket.

SPECIAL TEAMS — D

Tremon Smith has been among the Broncos’ unsung heroes this year. He’s done terrific work on special teams and is a reason why Denver’s had among the league’s best units over the past two seasons. But the interference penalty on the final snap of the first half was a brutal blow. It moved the little-known fair catch free kick chance for Los Angeles to 57 yards. Maybe they would have tried it from 72, but that obviously would have been a much lower-percentage proposition. It wasn’t all bad: Smith downed another Riley Dixon punt at the 4-yard line and Wil Lutz knocked home a 55-yard field goal on another clean place-kicking night, but the bad far outweighed the good.

COACHING — F

A perplexing sequence before the end of the first half: The Broncos started with the ball, backed up, and 41 seconds remaining. Head coach Sean Payton said after the game it called for being “pretty conservative.” But after a first-down screen went for minus-3, Denver rushed back to the line and snapped the ball with 23 seconds still left on the play clock and just 17 seconds left in the half. Incompletion. Then a third-down run that drew a quick Los Angeles timeout. Play aggressive or don’t — sitting on the ball would have been fine given Denver was up 11 and starting the second half with the ball — but that sequence played right into the Chargers’ hands. Combine it with abandoning the run game after two drives and another penalty filled night and it was not Payton and the coaching staff’s best night. Not by a long shot.

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