Broncos DB Chris Harris out for remainder of postseason with torn ACL

Losing Chris Harris will handicap Denver's defense. (Hyoung Chang/Getty Images) The Denver Broncos are preparing to host their first AFC Championship Game

Doug Farrar | Jan 13, 2014

Broncos DB Chris Harris out for remainder of postseason with torn ACL /

Losing Chris Harris will handicap Denver's defense. (Hyoung Chang/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos are preparing to host their first AFC Championship Game since the 2005 season, but they'll do so without one of their most important defenders. In the second half of Denver's 24-17 win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, cornerback Chris Harris left the game with a knee injury that has now been confirmed as a torn ACL by USA Today's Lindsay Jones and several other sources. Harris will miss the remainder of the postseason as a result.

When Harris left the game, Denver had a 17-0 lead, and the fact that things started to turn soon after is a testament to his value. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to rookie receiver Keenan Allen, who also caught a 49-yard non-scoring pass halfway through the fourth quarter. Quentin Jammer, who replaced Harris, was beaten on the first touchdown and on the 49-yarder, while two Denver defensive backs were out of place on the second score.

"I think we made some mental errors," Jammer said after the game. "I know me, myself, I made mental errors that led to three big plays. I sat on a route on 4th-and-3. I overthought everything. Me being a veteran player there’s 4th-and-3, going against the wind I’m thinking a curl something just to get the first down and keep the chains moving [and I] let the guy run right by me. [Chargers receiver] Eddie Royal on 3rd-and-6, I’m thinking one thing and he runs a completely different route. There’s a lot that we can clean up and there’s a lot that I need to clean up.”

Harris did not have any such issues this season. In 2013, per Pro Football Focus' game charting, he allowed a 65.6 passer rating on 393 slot snaps, and didn’t give up a single touchdown while registering three interceptions. He also upped his game on the outside, allowing a 64.9 rating overall.

The Broncos will face the New England Patriots in the conference championship game, and Harris' absence will be a particular issue because New England's offense has so many slot targets -- and that's Harris' area of expertise.

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Published Jan 13, 2014

DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009, Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine. He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.