15:00: On first down, LaDainian Tomlinson takes a carry up the middle for 12 yards, setting up another first down at the Denver 26-yard line.
He takes a carry again on second down, but is brought down by John Engelberger after a gain of only two.
13:45: Second-and-8 for the Chargers. Philip Rivers looks to be calling an audible at the line and tries to call a timeout before the play clock winds down — but there’s a flag on the play. The flag is picked up, however, no delay of game. They grant the Chargers their first timeout of the half.
13:39: Rivers overthrows his target in the end zone, setting up a third-and-8 for San Diego. Rivers is in the shotgun, takes the snap and finds Antonio Gates — but he’s short of the first-down marker.
Fourth-and-a short 1 for the Chargers. The offense stays on the field. It’s another quarterback sneak and Rivers barely picks up the first. Not much of a push for the Chargers offensive line.
12:20: Jamie Winborn wraps up Jacob Hester almost immediately after he catches a Rivers pass on first down — it’s second-and-7 at the Denver 12.
Rivers is in the shotgun and rolls to his right before finding Brandon Manumaleuna in the end zone for a touchdown. Two Chargers looked to fight for the ball before the tight end came down with it with two feet inbounds.
The extra point is good and the Chargers lead 17-6.
11:30: Chad Jackson is back to receive the Nate Kaeding kickoff. He fields it at the four-yard line and heads upfield to the 26-yard line.
Cutler and the offense heads back out to the field. The Qualcomm crowd is getting into it as Cutler takes the shotgun snap and finds Brandon Stokley for a completion to the 32-yard line. There’s a flag on the play, however. Illegal hands to the face on the defense. That’s five yards and an automatic first down.
11:04: A pass floats just through Eddie Royal’s hands held over his head, setting up second-and-10. Cutler takes the snap, drops back and looks rigth back to Royal near the first-down marker. There’s a flag in the backfield, however.
Personal foul, chop block on the Broncos.
10:57: Second-and-25 for the Broncos from their own 16-yard line. Cutler is in the shotgun with Tatum Bell to his right. The crowd is going bezerk. It looks like Cutler will be sacked from behind, but he must have felt the defender because he moves at the last second, avoids pressure and launches it downfield. The ball falls incomplete, however, and there’s a flag on the play. Offensive holding, but the Chargers decline.
Third-and-25 for the Broncos. The fans are on their feet as Cutler drops back, avoids pressure and gets it off to Bell on a screen pass. Bell slips at the 20-yard line, however, after only a four-yard gain.
Kern is out to punt with Sproles back to receive. He lets it fly with some solid hang time, then Josh Barrett is there to make the special teams stop.
9:40: LaDainian Tomlinson takes the first-down carry for one yard. Second-and-9 for San Diego at its own 43. Rivers drops back and gets it to Chris Chambers, who stays seated just past the first-down marker before being touched down.
8:30: First-and-10 in Denver territory for the Chargers. Tomlinson takes the carry but he’s ridden down by Marcus Thomas after a one-yard gain.
On second down, Rivers drops back and again finds an open receiver. This time it’s Jacob Hester, who takes the pass and runs for a first down before being tackled by D.J. Williams. It’s a 16-yard gain to the Denver 26-yard line.
7:05: Rivers hands to Sproles, who finds some room up the middle for a five-yard gain before being taken down by Barrett.
6:20: Sproles takes the handoff again on second-and-5 and is taken down by Kenny Peterson short of the first down. There’s a flag on the play, however. Holding on the offense — 10-yard penalty.
That brings up second-and-15 for the Chargers at the Denver 31-yard line. Rivers is in the shotgun. He calls for the ball, but there’s movement on the right side of the line — false start on the right tackle. Now it’s second-and-20.
5:48: Second-and-20. Rivers is in the sthogun and once again finds an open receiver — Chris Chambers this time around. It’s an 18-yard gain, setting up third-and-2 at the Denver 18.
Rivers is in the shotgun, he pitches it to Tomlinson headed left. Tomlinson then pitches it to Vincent Jackson headed right — it’s a reverse. Jackson looks like he’s headed for the end zone but he’s tripped up by Champ Bailey at the six-yard line. It’s still a first down.
4:15: Tomlinson takes the first-and-goal handoff but he’s taken down after a gain of one by John Engelberger.
On second-and-goal, Tomlinson finds his way into the end zone for the second time and the crowd erupts. The Kaeding PAT is good, and the Broncos trail the Chargers 24-6.
3:32: Jackson fields the kickoff and fights his way forward to around the 30-yard line, where the Denver offense will start after trotting back onto the field.
First-and-10 Denver. Cutler is in the shotgun and hands to Bell. He picks up a nice block from Daniel Graham and grabs seven yards.
2:48: On second down, Bell takes another handoff and picks up 12 more yards. First down for the Broncos near midfield. Bell takes another handoff on the ensuing first down and gets three yards into San Diego territory.
That takes us to the two-minute warning.
2:00: Second-and-7 for the Broncos at the San Diego 48. Cutler takes the snap and fires for Brandon Marshall. It’s Marshall’s first catch of the day and it goes for a first down.
The team hurries back to the line. Cutler is in the shotgun again and finds Brandon Stokley for a first down just before being drilled to the ground. Timeout Denver.
1:19: Cutler is in the shotgun and Bell goes in motion. The quarterback drops back and finds Tony Scheffler in the front corner of the end zone, but the ref says he was out of bounds on the way down.
As the Broncos head back to the line for the next play, the refs announce they will be reviewing the previous play. The ruling on the field is confirmed — incomplete pass.
Now it’s second-and-10 for the Broncos at the San Diego 14-yard line. Cutler is once again in the shotgun, takes the snap and fires it to the middle of the end zone — but it’s picked off. The Chargers will take over at their own 20-yard line.
0:30: Rivers drops back and throws the ball away at the feet of his running back. No flag for intentional grounding because he rolled to his right out of the pocket.
On third down Sproles takes a handoff and picks up a first down past the 30-yard line. Timeout San Diego.
0:22: False start penalty on the Chargers. First-and-15 for San Diego at its own 31. The team breaks the huddle and Rivers lines up in the shotgun. He takes the snap, drops back and lofts a pass far out of bounds.
Second-and-15. Rivers hands off to Sproles out of the shotgun, and he picks up six yards before being taken down by D.J. Williams. That ends the first half.
The Chargers lead the Broncos, 24-6.
-Gray Caldwell, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: First Quarter, Gray Caldwell, Live Blog, Week 17
Man, they keep showing Cutler on the sidelines… the most calm, cool and collected QB I’ve ever seen. Not a worry in the world. He just needs to come back out on the field strong and get the job done.
Our D has their work cut out for them, that’s all I can say!
GO BRONCOS!!!!
keep up the heads Broncos..we can still win this….
they cant go 3 and out here. they need to at least switch the field position game up on SD.
that was horrible coverage. our coverage needs to man up and our receivers need to step up. we need to get going or else we never will stay with the chargers, come on broncos
Champ or somebody needs to get a pick on this next Charger drive or someone needs to force a fumble and we recover it… we’re starting to get soft, losing a our aggressiveness and letting them off the hook.
We cannot afford this!!!!
Stay strong fans… have faith
GO BRONCOS!!!!!
Jesus Christ. Where are all the people who were praying for a win…they better get on their knees again.
we suck so bad
Nice contain Dumerville.
Time to get out the golf clubs Broncos, because your off-season has just started. I told ALL you “believers and faithful fans,” Denver did not stand a chance. Where is your faith getting you now? Unfortunately, 8-8 is exactly where this team belongs.
were giving it to these unsportsmanlike players dirty players that dont deserve it
Bell has looked really good on offense. The offense has a whole has actually looked pretty good.
this is huge. gotta get points and then we get the ball back in the second half.
teeoneup your as big of a lowlife as the chargers get outta here game isnt over gotta pull our heads out of are you know what
I’m only going to leave one post here during the game. Prater get the “F” off the field. I say go for two every time. We are playing like donkey $#!*. I’m a loyal fan but lets face it. The way we’ve been playing this game…the game is over. We’re going home, and we’ve blown one of the largest deficients in NFL history letting the Chargers back into winning the division. What the “F” Royal and Marshall missing catches. Don’t BS me about the game not being over there’s the second half. Every game this season has been about the second half and we still don’t show up. Maybe next season this team can do better. I hope and I compare the stats and every week it doesn’t mean a damn thing, we still can’t play consistent. I’m leaving this in hopes that the Broncos will prove me wrong.
Wow, teeoneuptoo… you sure give up on your team really fast. Saying that we belong in 8-8 acting like you have absolutely no hope for this team ever in this game or next season. This game IS NOT OVER!! I certainly don’t see the clock at 0:00 in the 4th quarter, do you? We can win this and if you had even a speck of faith in you, you wouldn’t be talking down on your team. Its pitiful, absolutely pitiful that you say “you love this team” and then say stuff like you just did. It makes no sense.
Where is your “give up all the time” attitude getting you? NOWHERE! Get some backbone man and have some faith.
Oh and my “faithful fan attitude” gets me through not only games like this when they seem like a lost cause early on, but it gets me through everyday of my life, thank you very much. Honey, this game right now is far from over. We have a whole other half to play… calm down would ya?
From this ever faithful fan…
GO BRONCOS!!!!!
Well said. teeoneuptoo if all fans were like you then the stadiums would be empty. Real fans dont give up in the second quarter!
Exactly 07elway. Dont understand these fans who rip their team one second then love them the next and so on. Long way to go in this one!
uh oh
well this is great! their drives: field goal, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown; our drives: touchdown, punt, punt, int! THAT IS GREAT
we lost we suck
a) cutlers not that good, how he got into the pro bowl amazes me
b) shannahan sucks as a coach
c) our defense looks like Colorado State
d) our owner has to much of a man crush on shanny to do anything about it
e) this season is over. peace.
Again, there’s a difference between being a real fan and being realistic. I would like nothing more than to be proven wrong. I’m still watching, but it looks bleak.
Lets see some second half adjustments, we need to try to run the ball they know we are going to pass, we are always in the shootgun.
bmarsh111… one thing to say to you.
a) you suck BIG time at being a fan (I can guarantee you wouldn’t be saying the things you just did if we were winning, as if we were this perfect do-nothing-wrong team) You guys ONLY give a crap about this team when we win or are winning… pathetic.
Have some faith Broncos Country…
GO BRONCOS!!!!
better luck next year
no teeoneupto, REAL bronco fans have the “it isn’t over til its over” mentality because it was burned into their skulls with elway. However, Cutler stands on the sideline like a 12 year old in timeout, doesn’t look to much like a come from behind kind of guy, he’s already thinking about the ride home.
REAL BRONCO FANS need to open their eyes and see how bad this team is
So I lied, I’m going to keep posting. Loyal fans don’t give up on their team. In that respect loyal fans know how their team has played all year long. We look like the same team that lost to Oakland/Bills/KC/Carolina…. We’re not adjusting, were not playing like we could be going home. The players don’t look like they care either way. I’m not going to question loyalty if one wants to say the game is over. You talk about fans not being loyal, I know this hits far from home but what about the players. If the players aren’t giving 100% then their not being loyal to the team, themselves or the fans. And that is truly BullS#*!
Prater needs to get fired so hard. Lost all our momentum on a missed extra point.
Fired isn;t enough. He needs to stand there, let the entire team line up, and one-by-one run by and slap him in the face … hard.
I’m still hoping our team comes out strong second half and gets this done. Not looking good though so far.
07elway, being a loyal fan has nothing to do with pointing out the obvious. What part of what i said do you disagree with? I love this team with all I got, but i haven’t seen a more pitiful excuse of a team, or an organization for that matter in the last 10 years. Jay has a lot of growing up to do, and we need to find better coordinators
Hey 07Elway. Why would he say anything negative when the team is winning?!?!?!?!? That’s ridiculous. When a team is winning…it can be assumed things are going well. By the way, if we didn’t give a crap about this team, why are we watching and why are we here voicing our displeasure with their performance? Because we DO care.
I say lets look for a new kicker, while Prater has the strength, I think we’ve all seen he doesn’t have the accuracy. What if it comes down to a FG like that? I’d feel more comfortable with going for the TD.
So what do you think we will look like next year the offense looks good most of the time lots of good young players. can you really change d coordinators every year and get everyone on the same page. are there any pass rushers coming up in the draft that would help a lot. was that really champ today or is the injury still bothering him. well time to watch the second half. go broncos
hey, td on the opening drive and it’s a new game.
Wow,,,,,, I told you we would get worked. It has nothing to do about how much a fan I am, it has to do about knowing football. Not sure why Webster and DJ are starting but its pretty funny how we havent won since we inserted them back in the line up. New coach,new kicker and new defense and maybe we will end with a winning record
How come Jay looks like a cry baby on the sidelines? Get mad, get your team to rally, get fired up, do something.
We just for once need to play the whole game and not just the first drive.
I’m just as hard core a fan as the next guy, but…3 up with 3 to go and you don’t make the play-offs? LAUGHING STOCK OF THE LEAGUE!! See you in July……….
sweet post man. what do i know nothing about? let me rephrase the exact opposite of what i said, maybe then you will agree
a) jay cutler is the best quarterback in the nfl
b) shanny is a football guru and his play calling is rivaled by non
c) our defense is the second coming of the orange crush
d) bowlen definitely does not like shanny in a loving manner
e) the broncos will outscore the charges 24-0 in the second half.
well to me, that all sounds ludacris but whatever floats the “loyal fan’s” boat i guess
and THERE is the td. game on.
What do you know…that was a fast drive. Nice job offense.
I told you run the ball,
dont want to call you out reggie but you also said stop going from shot gun
bmarsh111 – what part of what you said do I disagree with? Are you kidding me? Why would I have said what I did if I didn’t disagree with ALL of it. For starters, you were right… Cutler isn’t good, he’s better than good. He’s a GREAT QB with plenty of potential in the future. Yeah, he does need to grow up a bit but you should know that comes with time. That’s where you need not only faith but patience when it comes to this team. Faith that they can prevail in this game and future seasons. Second, Shanahan DOES NOT suck as a coach… if you can coach better, then why aren’t you the head coach for this team or any other professional team? Would love to see you do better, good luck with that. Third, our D needs ALOT of improvements, they need ALOT of help but I always have faith that the coaches/coordinators will get that fixed. I have the patience for that. Fourth, Bowlen is smart, very very smart in keeping Shanny… he gets the picture, as do I! And fifth, this season is not over, YET!! There’s plenty more of this game to come. Sit tight.
teeoneuptoo – and that’s just it… assuming everything. We can assume all we want that things are just fine when we’re winning, playing smart but that can change on a dime. Assuming things does no good… it has no guarantee. We’d like to think everything would be just fine when we’re winning but that’s never a guarantee till the game is over. And I do see how mediocre this team has been all season, I haven’t been living in some far off cave from reality… I just prefer to not bash my team and think like we’ve got promise, potential and I do know we will not be this so-so team forever, I just couldn’t tell you when this mediocracy will end.
Have faith…
GO BRONCOS!!!!
Hmmmmmmmm.
i like how you compare me to shanny, isn’t that something in itself? this guys gotta go.
We fight each other on this site more than our team fights on the field, just look at the Broncos faces on the sideline they look beat.