Broncos Back on the Ball

With the head coach peering over their shoulders, Denver defenders responded with their best game of the season.

Mike Shanahan vowed to take a more active role in the defense after a one-sided loss in Oakland last week, and his hands-on approach helped produce a 26-16 win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

“I’m only here to help,” Shanahan insisted. “We’ve got a guy as our defensive coordinator [Ray Rhodes] that I have the utmost respect for. Just because we were down last week, I felt I could give the defense some attention and a fresh look. Our defensive coaches did a great job with the game plan.”

The Broncos allowed only 243 yards and nine first downs--both season bests--and intercepted four passes.

On the other side of the ball, Brian Griese eyed a wounded San Diego defense and took advantage.

Griese threw two touchdown passes only 39 seconds apart late in the first half, and the Broncos later overcame moments of generosity.

Denver, moving into a second-place tie with San Diego at 5-4 in the AFC West, capitalized on a sprained left knee sustained by San Diego’s leading tackler, safety Rodney Harrison, and injuries to linebacker Orlando Ruff (shoulder) and cornerback Alex Molden (left ankle).

The Broncos built a 26-3 lead midway through the third quarter. San Diego rallied with a long touchdown pass and a fumble recovery for a touchdown, but Doug Flutie subsequently threw three interceptions.

Griese completed 21 of 31 passes for 224 yards.

Terrell Davis, playing in his second consecutive game after a siege of injuries for two seasons, rushed for 83 yards in 33 carries.

Jason Elam kicked four field goals for the Broncos, who took a 20-0 halftime lead on Griese’s two touchdown throws. Both were to tight ends as Denver was short-handed at wide receiver when Eddie Kennison was declared inactive for the game after telling Shanahan he was retiring Saturday night. Receiver Scottie Montgomery was sidelined with a twisted left knee in the first half.

“They started faster than we did,” Charger Coach Mike Riley said. “We had absolutely nothing, no edge at the start of the game. We just were outplayed.”

The Broncos, however, nearly gave the game away early in the fourth quarter.

A blown coverage left Curtis Conway wide open down the middle, and he hauled in Flutie’s pass for a 72-yard scoring play.

Four minutes later, Griese coughed up the ball while being pressured by linebacker Gerald Dixon, and defensive end Raylee Johnson lumbered 45 yards with the fumble recovery for a touchdown, making it 26-16 with 10:57 left.