Broncos backfield looks healthy for San Diego game on Monday night

October 16, 4:32 PMDenver Broncos ExaminerGreg Henry

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The Broncos backfield will be fully loaded for Monday night's game at San Diego.

Josh McDaniels said Correll Buckhalter and LaMont Jordan both are expected to play against the Chargers, The Denver Post reported online.

Buckhalter missed Sunday's overtime victory over New England after spraining his left ankle in the Week 4 win over Dallas. Jordan missed practices Wednesday and Thursday, leading to speculation he might be hurt. But Jordan was excused to attend to personal matters. Jordan participated in Friday's practice.

The Broncos backfield should be licking its chops for Monday night's game. The Chargers are ranked 27th in the NFL in run defense.

San Diego allows an average of 151.0 yards a game and 4.6 yards per carry. Denver ranks fifth in rushing defense, gaining 131.0 a game and 4.6 per carry.

Nose tackle Jamal Williams was placed on injured reserve after the season-opening victory over the Oakland Raiders.

At 6-foot-3, 350 pounds, Williams packs a lot of size to bottle up the middle and stop opposing runners.

Much of Denver's concern appears to be on keeping the pressure off quarterback Kyle Orton and preventing San Diego's linebackers from making big plays. Orton is well aware of the Chargers' defensive plan, created by coordinator Ron Rivera, who used to coach for the Chicago Bears in the same capacity.

“Well, I know Chico pretty well, pretty well from Chicago, and he bases his defense off of turnovers and creating pressure on the quarterback," Orton said. "They don’t want to get off the field. They want to score points. This is a defense that certainly thrives off of turnovers. When they get them, they win. When they
don’t, it is tough for them. We are going to have to do a great job in pass protection, running right routes, me being accurate with the ball. Like all of Ron’s defenses, they strip the ball better than anybody that I know. We will have our work cut out for us, and I know we had six balls on the ground in the New England game. We are going to have to get that fixed in a hurry.”

TICKET CUTS: The Broncos have told its club-seat owners Thursday prices for the 2010 season will be reduced by 15 to 24 percent. The move is not surprising considering the economy, but the timing is odd with Denver off to a 5-0 start.

Broncos’ executive director of premium seating Dennis Moore told The Denver Post: "At the end of the day we listened to our clients concerns regarding the economy over the past year. This will move the prices more in line with NFL markets similar in size to ours.’’

Invesco Field at Mile High has 2,300 accounts for its 8,100 club seats, The Post reported. The average club seat price a year ago was $317, near the top in the NFL. Denver is the 16th-largest TV market in the U.S.