Chargers romp past Broncos

Sunday, Oct 07, 2007
By Tom Shanahan, Chargers.com

The Chargers said they needed "one win" after suffering a third straight loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at home last week. They not only got that one win Sunday at Denver, they did it in more ways than one.

The Bolts beat the Broncos 41-3 at Invesco Field with all three phases contributing early and often to a game that turned into a rout as San Diego won for the second straight year at Denver.

The 38-point margin of victory was the largest for the franchise since a 1963 win of 53-7 over the New York Jets. It was largest point-total loss by the Broncos in Denver since 1966.

"It was unbelievable," Chargers head coach Norv Turner said. "You looked around the stadium in middle of the third quarter, and people were going home. That' a credit to our group of players. It's easy to start doubting and questioning yourself. But our players have not questioned or doubted. They hung in there and believed in what we're doing."

The Chargers, Broncos and Chiefs are all now 2-3 in the AFC West, a half-game back of the Oakland Raiders, who play Sunday against the Bolts at Qualcomm Stadium for Alumni Weekend.

The Chargers rolled up 484 yards of total offense, scored two touchdowns within 11 seconds in the first quarter with a special teams turnover and the defense kept the Broncos out of the end zone.

The Chargers' first score came after the defense forced a punt and Darren Sproles retuned the ball 23 yards to the 29-yard line.

From there, quarterback Philip Rivers directed an an eight-play, 71-yard drive, with the big play a 36-yard screen pass that LaDainian Tomlinson advanced down the right sideline after making a move on a tackler just past the line of scrimmage.

The drive ended with Rivers scoring his first career rushing touchdown. He rolled right on a 2-yard run with 6:26 left in the first quarter.

But the score was 14-0 just 11 seconds later when backup linebacker Carlos Polk forced a fumble on the kickoff return and backup linebacker Brandon Siler picked the ball out of the air and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown.

"This is a crazy game," Turner said. "We got the big screen play early, and it seemed to spark everybody. We were able to score on that first drive, which was big. But the play of the game was Carlos Polk on the kick return. Our kickoff coverage has been as good as I've ever been around. When you score a touchdown on your kickoff coverage, you know it's good."

The Chargers' defense got the ball back again despite Denver driving deep into San Diego's territory. Safety Marlon McCreen knocked the ball free on a tackle and cornerback Quentin Jammer recovered at the 9-yard line.

The Bolts moved 83 yards to the 8-yard line before settling for a 26-yard field goal by Nate Kaeding with 11:23 left in the second quarter. Tight end Anthony Gates caught a third-down pass for 13 yards and Tomlinson broke of a 29-yard pass play for the big gains on the drive.

Denver scored for the only time in the game with a field goal with 5:13 left in the second quarter, but that was enough time for the Chargers to add another score for a 20-3 halftime lead on a 45-yard field goal by Kaeding.

"We got back to Chargers football that we all know and missed," Rivers said. "We finally put a complete game together, and we're excited with the way we played. We've still got a long way to go. We got a one-game winning streak and we'll be looking to make it two against the Raiders."

The Chargers continued to control the game when they opened the third quarter with an eight-play, 73-yard drive that finished with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to Gates for a 27-3 lead.

The Chargers' final two touchdowns came on a 15-yard pass from Rivers to Vincent Jackson in the third quarter and a 74-yard touchdown run by Michael Turner in the fourth quarter.

Turner finished with 10 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown. Tomlinson carried 21 times for 67 yards and caught three passes for 73 yards. Gates led the team in receiving with seven catches for 113 yards and at touchdown.

Rivers completed 13 of 18 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns without and an interception or a sack. In the first four games, he had been sacked nine times and thrown six interceptions.

"The offensive line was outstanding," Rivers said. "I told them during the game, 'You'll have been great all year, don't get me wrong, but when you block like this and the pocket is that clean, it makes it a lot easier back there. I think I was touched once. The hardest I hit the ground was that touchdown run."