Langley, Broncos Special Teams Struggle In First Half

CARSON, Calif. (CBS4) - Amidst the multitude of struggles for the Denver Broncos in the first half at the StubHub Center on Sunday was one thing that stood out a little more than others: the kickoff returns.

Rookie cornerback Brendan Langley, who has been handling Denver's kickoff return duties since the Broncos bye week, made two questionable decisions in the early going of the Broncos-Chargers matchup.

Instead of taking a knee, he gambled twice by trying to run it out of the endzone. Neither led to good results: starting field positions of 9 yard line and 16 yard line for the Broncos offense.

CBS4's Mark Haas pointed out that Langley's failures cost his team 28 yards in field position.

On his third kickoff return, which came in the second quarter, Langley kneeled when he caught it in the endzone. We don't know for sure, but that may have been a result of his special teams coordinator Brock Olivo's urging.

Olivo's unit's struggles went beyond the kickoff returns. Chargers wide receiver Travis Benjamin returned a Riley Dixon punt 65 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter for the first score of the game.

PHOTO GALLERY: Broncos-Chargers