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Published on 11/22/2009 at Sun Nov 22 17:37.
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Chargers take AFC West lead with 32-3 thumping of Broncos

Posted Sun Nov 22nd by

Denver Broncos' Correll Buckhalter (28) is stopped in midair by San Diego Chargers' Kevin Burnett, right, and Ian Scott during the third quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Broncos' Correll Buckhalter (28) is stopped in midair by San Diego Chargers' Kevin Burnett, right, and Ian Scott during the third quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Two teams took the field Sunday in Denver, but neither even remotely resembled the squads that played in San Diego just 34 days earlier.

The Broncos looked beaten, and they were beaten. Injured QB Kyle Orton came in relief of Chris Simms, but neither did enough to win. The defense allowed the Chargers to rush for over 200 yards (a season high), and San Diego left INVESCO Field at Mile High with a dominating 32-3 win.

With the win, the Chargers move to 7-3 and take sole possession of the AFC West, while the Broncos drop their fourth straight for a 6-4 record — and a mountain of questions.

The offense looked dynamic at times (Knowshon Moreno rushed eight times for 80 yards, 10.0 avg.), but they couldn’t convert yards into points. Denver entered San Diego’s red zone four times but only came away with three total points. They also came away with three turnovers (interception, fumble, and on downs). Simply put, those numbers add up to zero wins in the NFL, 100% of the time.

The defense was abused, especially both early and late, but they made some stops when it counted. They were a shell of the five-sack monster that took the field at Qualcomm in October, though.

The special teams couldn’t execute a questionable surprise onside kick in the third quarter that gave San Diego great field position and mostly put the game away.

Offense, defense, and special teams. Perhaps most stressing is that, in this fourth straight loss, this sentence must be uttered for the fourth straight time: the Broncos were dominated in all phases.

The Chargers did more than take control of the division in the standings; they stole the will to fight from the Broncos, and exerted theirs on a mostly hapless Denver team.

There is still a lot of football to play, and the Broncos have six weeks to bounce back. But with each will-shattering loss, the size this of this needed bounce continues to grow, as does doubt the Broncos can ever make it. If the past three weeks have been a test of character for this team, the next six will be even more telling.

  • Adrenaline27

    We have seen the best this team can be this season and the worst they can be. It will be interesting to see how they play out the rest of the games. Simms shows to be a bust and Mcdaniels seems to have no faith in him by pulling so soon for a injured Orton. I was hoping to see better out of Simms. I always said before this Season that Orton will surprise alot of fans this year. Not sure if he is our future or not.

    With that being said, I am pretty sure if Shanny was still our coach we wouldnt be at 6-4 and we would have gotten beat by 40 today. Its our first season with Mcdaniels and I think we all should give him a chance. I am still excited to see what the future holds. I just hope they learn from these losses and get better, which I believe they will do.

  • broncogeoff81

    Two major reasons we lost.
    1. The Kern Curse…further proven if Tennessee wins tomorrow night.
    2. We cannot catch a break. The ball was rolling our way the first 6 games of the year…but today with Moreno's fumble caused by Hochstein's knee, Simms' early game fumble, and almost every “good” drive coming to a halt inside the redzone is just the beginning.
    This Giant game is just that; it could literally determine if we make the playoffs or not.

  • TheTroglodyte

    There was some bad coaching decisions and a lot of poor execution by the players. The good news out of it is we seem to be getting the running game on track. A win against the Giants and we are right back in the hunt for the playoffs. Especially with the Bengals losing to the Raiders, the Steelers losing to the Chiefs and the Ravens losing to the Colts. For the second straight week the offense also seemed to be moving the ball well with Orton at the helm even though it sucked in the red zone.

    Hopefully Orton will be back on Thursday and we will have Brandstater ready to back him up instead of Simms.

  • Adrenaline27

    They need to eliminate the mistakes. Penalties are killing us and Moreno in my opinion has a fumbling problem. He needs to work on that big time. What is a good run if your just going to fumble it? It drains your momentum. Defense can spend all there energy into stopping a drive to give them free 5 yards on 3rd down. It wears on you. I believe if they fix those things alone it gives us a shot in every game. Not sure what happened on the onside kick though. communication seems it be an issue too, today that and last week the fake field goal.

  • kerry

    who in their right fucking mind goes for an onside kick in the 3rd quarter with 9 minutes left?!? who does that stupid shit!?

    but lets all thank Moreno for effectively burning down the house on the goal line with his 4th, or is it 5th, fumble of the year. Orton comes right in and drives the team right down the field, then Moreno rises to the challenge and ends the drive with a fumble. and yes i know everybody is gonna swoop in and yell and scream that the fumble was all Hochsteins fault, but its the SOLE RESPONSIBLITY of the RB TO SECURE THE BALL REGARDLESS OF BEING HIT AT ANY ANGLE. and bravo to Marshall for getting in Morenos face after the fumble. the kid needs to be yelled at for his drive killing mistakes.

  • Mike

    That is just sickening. Absolutely sickening. It was good to see Brandon Marshall angry. Everyone else just seemed to accept defeat. Orton comes in and creates a spark and Knowshon just killed the team on that goal line play. That was the game right there. He appears to be a solid first round pick and a great runner but his 3 fumbles have killed the team. I will be interested to see how the Broncos play on Thursday: Will they just roll over and die? Orton looked like THE MAN coming in and playing on one ankle.

  • postalmoose

    Three things are going on here.
    1. The Broncos caught alot of breaks early and now none are going their way.
    2. Teams with the help of the Ravens and Steelers have taken away the Broncos strengths, a blueprint if you will for how to stop them.
    3. The coaching staff has done a terrible job of making adjustments, in game and over the week, to counterattack what teams have found out. 4. The players to me have seemed to stop playing hard at times, especially in the second half of games when they are getting beat.
    So now it is up to McD to show his mettle as a coach and if he can motivate and coach up his team because alot of this loss was on him starting Simms over Orton when Orton could have played and the dumb onsides kick. We will see what kind of coach he is on a short week as he keeps saying all the stuff he learned as a coach from his dad and Bellcheck. Show us what you got Josh!

  • dqn

    At 7 and 3 an NFL team still has a good shot at the “big game”. 6 and 4? Forget it. It's over for the Broncos, even if they win every remaining game. They might make the play-offs, but only barely (I know, they won the Super Bowl as a wild card, but back then they had Elway. Right now, they don't.) Accept this as a building year, but only THIS year.

  • con brio

    once again, not outplayed, but outcoached. with cutler, the broncos would have won this game. the rookie coach will need a lot of years to make up for trading away a once in a generation q.b.

  • danielbejarano

    put the rookie in there what did we have to lose this game, we already lost respect and all chances of a victory….move on move on…

  • olen

    Is it possible that what the coaching staff tried to do , did not happen . There is a third quarterback . Someone has to come out in order for him to appear on the roster . Cutler had to start somewhere . Simms is not going to get better maybe make him number 3 . This falls in the category of high school to not allow a 10th grader start as a quarterback to replace a senior . It is time to stay the course win or lose until we get better . Hopefully Chicago does not win too many so we can get a higher selection .

  • eljbow

    We would not have won the game with he who shall not be named. Simply put.

  • Adrenaline27

    You can have Cutler, I once my self was a Cutler fan. After he showed how immature he is and how he handled the off season debockle I could care less. Thats not the type of person I want running and being a leader of my football team. Orton has shown he is a way better leader. Look at him in Chicago. The leads the league in interceptions. How can you say we would have won that game. Do you not remember the last few seasons. If anything we would have lost by more because he would have given the ball over to many times and allowed them to score more points. It has to tell you something when a coach comes from New England with Tom Brady and Matt Cassell, and wants to trade or look at the option of trading Cutler. They must have seen something in him that they didnt like and I guess we all got to see some of it come to light. Cutler.. NO THANKS.. I would rather lose with with a decent leader then a baby that pouts and crys.

    I bet by the next two years we will look like the real winners in the trade. Now that we have someone that can scout players and not let the draft choices go to wastes.

  • Jimmy

    Simms is a proven loser……….. why not put the rookie in? Brandstater's better than Simms will ever be, and he may be our future.

  • gafeeter

    not that it matters, but i'll bite on that shanny 'what if'. we went 8-8 last year, and i doubt anyone here expects us to exceed that total this year (even including the lucky cincy win). guys like scheffler and hillis, who appeared to be budding stars, have been reduced to afterthoughts. the O line is a joke right now and cant even keep our qbs off the grass half the time. marshall and royal still show flashes, but will come up far far short of their 08-09 production. cutler was in the pro bowl last year and now is being openly mocked by the jokers i'm watching on nbc. the point being that ol ratface was getting elite production from all these guys last year- and now, not so much.

    the only reason we are hanging around 500 with the offense a shell of last year's version is that the D has improved dramatically. and yet, champ and dj, our 2 best players, have already exceeded their combined games played from last year. if they were to miss our last 6 games, we probably wouldnt hit that 8-8 mark.

    not to mention how aggravating the moreno fumbles have been- but i doubt anyone will be calling for a return of everyone's favorite aurora mall cell phone salesman/bronco 08-09 running back tatum bell.

    anyway, i share your optimism about our future- but dont really see some huge improvement from the coaching dimension of this team. if anything, it seems like the new guy is getting less out of our players than the old guy.

  • TheTroglodyte

    Holy crap Kerry this makes the second post in a row I agree with you. I have seen a lot of coaches try the surprise onside kick in very similar situations. It's stupid. Our defense just made a great stop to start the half and for the second drive in a row we marched right down the field and McDaniels gets all ancy in the pantsy.

    If Moreno had that fumble on 4th down it would have been understandable. You have to do everything you can to get it in the end zone in that circumstance. On first, second or third down it is inexcusable. Why would you stretch when we have 2 or even 3 more downs to punch it in. Stupid rookie mistake. At least all of his fumbles have been for different reasons though, he seems to be learning situation at a time for what that is worth.

  • TheTroglodyte

    You mean the once in a generation qb who has set several records for red zone interceptions in the last year and has horrible dpar and dyar ratings? Besides that Adam Schefter just reported that Shanahan was shopping Cutler himself before he got fired so he probably wouldn't have been a Bronco anyway.

  • Adrenaline27

    In my eyes Shanahan lost the team. I new last year going into the San Diego game that we would get our ass handed to us and we did. When you can come to predict that and it comes true after having a lead like we did in the division then yes I believe its time for a change. I was shocked when he got fired. I wasnt to happy about it but I embraced it. Look Denver wasnt going anywhere. If we were going to the playoffs and if we did they sure werent going to get very far. Thats just the facts. I believe that the Broncos needed a change. It wasnt like it was getting better each season. Maybe Shanahan had to much on his plate, but the blew several draft choices. We need someone to find talent and not let them go to wasts. You just can't afford to miss on first and second round talent. In my eyes he did. Royal yes, Clady yes.. Thats about it.

    I am not trying to bash Shanny cause I do like the guy. Hell he won us two super bowls.. but some times good things must come to an end. I don't think anyone here really expected us to go 6 straight wins out the gate with New England, San Deigo, Dallas. So I do give props to McDanels. I say not bad for his first head coaching job.

  • robtink242

    Rite on between lack of execution and carelessness this team is suffering. It's also quite obvious that we have seen the full potential of Simms and Orton. Bradstater is the only option at QB. I see it very hard to bench or sideline Hillis for his lone fumble against a porous Brown's team. When Moreno and Buckhalter fumble against major compo at critical times. But hey the coaching staff knows best. Probably if the offense stays on the field long enough our D could get some rest and strategies.

  • Adrenaline27

    I believe putting in Brandstater's with no reps and him being rookie with a division game on the line, you just setting the young kid up for failure. I do think towards the end of the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach that they should have given him some reps and kept Orton out with this being a short week. But not to come in to save the day. I bet this week and next they give him more reps though. I think we have to trust a little that Mcdaniels knows what he is doing. Look what he did with Matt Cassel last year. They see stuff on film and in practice. They know and see more then we do.

  • kerry

    yeah exactly. Hillis has been getting the rough end of the stick all season now. poor guy. tons of talent gone to waste. another thing is, McD preached all offseason about ball control and eating up time off the clock. im still waiting to see this strategy. because it isnt happening. and why wasnt Scheffler involved today? he torched the Chargers last time so the gameplan this week was to not use him?!? what the hell is McD doing??!!

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    Shanny's Broncos lost 42-3 at home against the Chargers in 2007.

  • robtink242

    McD is it “smart” for his own good.

  • mikebirty

    How depressingly predictable! Again the Chargers did what the Steelers and the Ravens did which is what the Broncos did in the first 6 games. Played 60 minutes, limited turn-overs and just battered the defense in the second half.

    At least the Giants look as falable as the Broncos – I watched their Atlanta game and they didn't look as good as the team that played in the first few weeks.

    Am I the only person who would've gone for the on-side kick. I thought it was a genius idea but poorly executed? Sure it was a risk but at that point it was “no guts no glory”.

  • chooch76

    This is my summary and I'll try and be as short as possible.
    Denver has a bad habit of too quickly calling for the heads of QB's that don't produce. I could list them all but I'll make it easy by saying confidently it has been EVERY QB since Elway. You guys called for the head of Jake Plumber and said, “Well, Cutler couldn't be any worse”. Well he wasn't any freakin better! Interception after interception Cutler didn't produce and once again Denver fans turned like the weather and immediately started complaining.
    Orton can throw the ball, he's shown that. He's safe, he's smart and he CAN make great plays. Those of you who can't see that are blinded by the “He's know Elway” BS that's become synonymous with Denver fandom. What he doesn't posses is the ability to call plays. Currently that responsibility falls onto the shoulders of offensive coordinator and head coach. There simply isn't enough history between coach and QB to allow for that.
    Chris Simms… Did anyone notice that the fumble was caused by an unchecked defender?! Our O line is falling apart!
    Ultimately, from head coach to the bench, the immaturity of this team is vividly clear and will be the biggest hurdle for them for the entirety of the season. Marshall was supposed to have been cleaning up his act, he kicks a ball, spikes another (which he was never flagged for) and now he's fighting with his teammates on the sidelines. McD is mouthing off to SD players in warmups. The list goes on an on.
    Denver fans, suck it up!
    Denver players. MAN UP!

  • Andpark

    Also agree with Kerry, over confident coach for sure.

    I know this isn't even worth bringing up but Moreno had to have passed the goal line before the fumble. We get that TD, momentum continues and we aren't forced to do the onside. Could have, would have… Blah Blah but we need to get it together.

    Still a good team and I think we played better than the score says but McD need to humble up and get back to basics. Bringing in Hillis and having Brandstater backup Orton would be a start

  • Gary_in_SD

    The defense had just produced a 3 and out. By doing this, McDs sent a message to them that he didn't have faith in them. He also took the air out of the crowd. No surprise the bolts scored quickly and the game was at that point all but over. I wish it had worked, but by no means would I have agreed with it even if it had.

  • Gary_in_SD

    I agree, it was dumb for him to stretch that ball out with more downs left to get it in. With that said though, I do think it crossed the line and we got robbed. A friend of mine who was there and had a goal line seat 4th row, told me she clearly saw the ball cross the line before he lost it.

  • atdpbozz

    I agree with you that nothing has really changed with the Broncos! I just don't understand why coach Josh has'nt come up with a very good strategy to out wit all opponents,it just seems that every game opponent knows are game plan in advance? I've been a Bronco fan ever since 1973, am currently living in Pensacola Florida and I would like to see some giant butt-kicked on Thanksgiving? I have confidence that the team can turn this all around.

  • robtink242

    Going back to the Moreno Fumble if there was a fullback (Hillis or Larsen) that play there was no way he fumbles. But because McGenius loves pulling guards there was none. See the fullbacks forward progress would allow him to fall flat on his ass. Oh yeah McGenius also placed that guard in there even though Ben Hamilton is far superior in run blocking. One thing live learn from playing football and watching the games is that it's a chess match of strengths. One thing for sure is that the stronger guy with with the best technique wins up front. and right now we have all the talent but poor game planing

  • Andpark

    Also agree with Kerry, over confident coach for sure.

    I know this isn't even worth bringing up but Moreno had to have passed the goal line before the fumble. We get that TD, momentum continues and we aren't forced to do the onside. Could have, would have… Blah Blah but we need to get it together.

    Still a good team and I think we played better than the score says but McD need to humble up and get back to basics. Bringing in Hillis and having Brandstater backup Orton would be a start

  • Gary_in_SD

    The defense had just produced a 3 and out. By doing this, McDs sent a message to them that he didn't have faith in them. He also took the air out of the crowd. No surprise the bolts scored quickly and the game was at that point all but over. I wish it had worked, but by no means would I have agreed with it even if it had.

  • Gary_in_SD

    I agree, it was dumb for him to stretch that ball out with more downs left to get it in. With that said though, I do think it crossed the line and we got robbed. A friend of mine who was there and had a goal line seat 4th row, told me she clearly saw the ball cross the line before he lost it.

  • atdpbozz

    I agree with you that nothing has really changed with the Broncos! I just don't understand why coach Josh has'nt come up with a very good strategy to out wit all opponents,it just seems that every game opponent knows are game plan in advance? I've been a Bronco fan ever since 1973, am currently living in Pensacola Florida and I would like to see some giant butt-kicked on Thanksgiving? I have confidence that the team can turn this all around.

  • robtink242

    Going back to the Moreno Fumble if there was a fullback (Hillis or Larsen) that play there was no way he fumbles. But because McGenius loves pulling guards there was none. See the fullbacks forward progress would allow him to fall flat on his ass. Oh yeah McGenius also placed that guard in there even though Ben Hamilton is far superior in run blocking. One thing live learn from playing football and watching the games is that it's a chess match of strengths. One thing for sure is that the stronger guy with with the best technique wins up front. and right now we have all the talent but poor game planing