Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips gave us all quite a scare last weekend when he collapsed following a hit on the sideline.
Phillips was injured last Sunday when San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon crashed into him on the sideline (watch here). It was a scary scene, and he was carted off the field after spending a significant amount of time on the ground.
Thankfully, the 69-year-old son of Bum Phillips suffered a relatively minor injury — a fractured rib — stemming from that incident.
While he’s been impossible to keep away from team headquarters this week, Phillips will not be calling his defense from the sideline as we’re used to seeing this Sunday night when the Broncos take on the Oakland Raiders in the California Bay Area.
Due to a fractured rib suffered last week in a collision on the sideline, Wade Phillips will run his defense from the coaches box tonight.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) November 6, 2016
Being that he’s such a veteran, it seems unlikely that a change of scenery will affect Phillips’ ability to call a good game for Denver’s defense. Far more significant a worry is that he’ll be without top cornerback Aqib Talib, and backup cornerback Kayvon Webster is also out.
Oakland’s offense is among the most dangerous in the NFL right now. Derek Carr has quite a bit of chemistry with receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. Keeping them from having a big game will be a big test for Denver Sunday night.
Without Talib and Webster, Von Miller and the guys up front will have to bring even more heat than normal to keep Carr from having his way against the depleted secondary.
We’re pretty sure Phillips, Miller and Co. will bring their A-games, but will it be enough? We cannot wait to find out.