Elway Gets Charged, Lights It Up : Scoreboard Message After Interception Gets His Attention

John Elway tried to convince himself that he would not be bothered by Vencie Glenn’s record 103-yard interception return in the opening quarter of Sunday’s game between the Chargers and the Broncos.

By the time the Broncos were ready to embark on their next offensive drive, Elway had just about put the memory behind him.

Then he glanced up at the DiamondVision screen. In colorful script, Elway’s performance to date against the Chargers was published: 13 interceptions and only two touchdowns.

“When I saw that, it added a little gasoline to the fire,” Elway said.

The “fire” raged out of control for the next three quarters as the Broncos beat the Chargers, 31-17, Sunday at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. The victory places the Broncos (7-3-1) a half-game out of first place in the AFC West behind the Chargers (8-3) and the Seattle Seahawks (7-3), who play the Raiders tonight.

“My heart dropped to my toes,” Elway said of the interception. “And not only that, I had to eat dirt on the same play.”

Elway was the final Bronco chasing Glenn when linebacker Thomas Benson plowed into him on the Charger 45.

“Anytime you throw an interception, you get mad at yourself,” Elway said. “The thing I can’t stand doing is throwing an interception, especially down there in scoring territory.

“But we had been successful on that drive (74 yards in 13 plays) and it was just a matter of coming back and keep firing. It did get my motor running.”

As it turned out, Glenn’s interception was only a postscript to a game dominated by Elway’s offensive performance. The fifth-year quarterback had his best game of the season, completing 21 of 32 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns.

He also gained 40 yards in six carries, mostly scrambling out of the pocket. That brings his total offensive performance in the past three games to 1,048 yards. Not bad considering the defenses he has faced: the Bears, Raiders and Chargers.

“It’s been a goal since I got here to play consistently week in and week out,” he said. “I don’t want to have the good games and the bad games and the good games and the bad games. I have to level it out.”

Elway was certainly consistent on third-down situations. The Broncos gained first downs on 12 of 15 third-down situations. Two of the biggest plays on third down were passes of 38 and 31 yards to wide receiver Ricky Nattiel.

Wide receiver Vance Johnson, who had seven receptions for 88 yards and a nine-yard touchdown catch, said: “(Elway’s) ability on third down to scramble and buy us time to get open is what makes him so great. He has so much ability, the sky’s the limit.”

Elway proved that when he scrambled out of the pocket on third and 10 from the Denver 20 and gained 29 yards, the longest run of his career.