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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
DENVER (AP) -- With Brian Griese and Terrell Davis both in the
repair shop, the Denver Broncos hopped on the Gus Bus and rode it
to a wild, come-from-behind victory.
AFC passing leader Griese was sidelined by a separated throwing
shoulder and Davis was out with a leg injury, but Gus Frerotte
showed that the Broncos still have plenty of horsepower.
|  | | Ed McCaffrey's 5-yard touchdown reception with 1:33 left in the game capped a 17-point comeback for the Broncos. |
Frerotte, in his second start of the season, threw five
touchdown passes in a 38-37 triumph over the winless San Diego
Chargers on Sunday.
In a rally that would have done John Elway proud, Frerotte
brought the Broncos (7-4) back from a 34-17 deficit late in the
third quarter and a 37-24 deficit with seven minutes left.
He threw touchdown passes to Rod Smith, Desmond Clark and Ed
McCaffrey -- all in the fourth quarter -- the final one a 5-yarder to
McCaffrey with 1:33 left.
"Pretty much, I planned it like that," Frerotte joked. "It
was crazy. It was up and down all day."
Frerotte completed 36 of 58 passes for 462 yards. The latter
established a Denver record, and his five TD passes and 36
completions tied team records.
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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Question on the Chargers: What do you attribute to Ryan Leaf's resurgence?
Donahoe: One of the things the Chargers have to find out by the end
of the season is whether Ryan Leaf is a long-term solution at quarterback. Can Leaf turn himself
around and be the type of quarterback the Chargers envisioned him to be when
they drafted him? Leaf looked confident today as he posted impressive
numbers (300-plus yards, three touchdowns). But it remains to be seen if
Leaf can gain the confidence of his teammates. This may be a bigger problem
than his performance on the field.
Question on the Broncos: Can any Broncos QB have success in the
Shanahan system?
Donahoe: The Broncos have a great offensive scheme and one of the
great offensive minds in the game in Mike Shanahan. Gus Frerotte had his touch-and-go
moments today, but in the end he found a way to get it done. It's difficult
to say that any quarterback could be successful in the Shanahan system, but
it is certainly a system that is conducive to quarterback play. Obviously,
when John Elway was there, the Broncos could have run any system they wanted
to. But this season with Brian
Griese and today with Frerotte, you can see the type of production
that's available when the system is run properly.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
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"Obviously," McCaffrey said, "Gus has a ton of talent and a
great arm and can really make things happen."
"These games are going to kill me," said Broncos coach Mike
Shanahan, whose team beat Oakland on the last play of the game
Monday night. "There were a lot of moments when anyone who watched
the game realistically would have said the game was over. But we
never gave up."
Earlier, Frerotte was his own worst enemy by throwing four
interceptions, one of which was returned 75 yards for a touchdown
by cornerback Scott Turner.
"It was amazing to be down 17 points twice and find a way to
win," Smith said. "That's what you've got to do if you're going
to stay in the playoff hunt."
"We thought we had the win for sure," Chargers running back Jermaine Fazande said.
Ryan Leaf, in by far his best performance as a pro, completed 13
of 27 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns with one
interception, but it wasn't enough.
Leaf's 83-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Graham late in the third
quarter made it 34-17.
"We had a chance and it looked good," Chargers coach Mike
Riley said. "But we were still playing a good team that kept
making plays."
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Close Calls
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The Chargers have now lost six games by three points or less, one short of the NFL record held by the 1994 Houston Oilers.
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3-pt. losses
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'94 Oilers
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7
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'00 Chargers
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6
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'93 Patriots
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6
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'84 Browns
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6
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'81 Falcons
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6
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Frerotte capped a 65-yard drive with a 26-yard pass to Smith
with 13 minutes left.
The Chargers converted Frerotte's fourth interception into a
33-yard field goal by John Carney with 7:13 remaining, making it
37-24.
Frerotte promptly took the Broncos 66 yards for another score,
completing all four passes, including a 10-yarder to Clark for the
TD with 4:59 to go.
San Diego went three-and-out, and the Broncos came back again.
Deltha O'Neal's 25-yard punt return gave Denver possession at the
Chargers 45. Six plays later, McCaffrey leaped over cornerback
Fakhir Brown in the right corner of the end zone for the clinching
score.
The Chargers (0-11), who appeared en route to snapping their
long losing streak, converted five Denver turnovers into 27 points
to build their lead.
Three big touchdown plays in the second quarter gave the
Chargers a 24-10 halftime lead. Leaf completed 4 of 5 passes for
143 yards and two touchdowns in the quarter.
Early in the period, Leaf hit Curtis Conway, who weaved his way
through five defenders for a 68-yard scoring play.
Leaf later hit Graham on a 45-yard TD pass.
Frerotte, who had driven the Broncos to the San Diego 29 moments
earlier only to be intercepted by Rogers Beckett, was intercepted
again, this time with damaging consequences.
Frerotte's pass to the right side was picked off by Turner, who
returned it 75 yards for a 24-7 lead late in the half.
Game notes
Frerotte broke Frank Tripucka's Denver record for passing
yards in a game; Tripucka had 447 in 1962. ... Six of the Chargers'
losses this season have been by a total of 12 points. ... Leaf came
into the game with four touchdown passes and 23 interceptions in
his career. ... It was the Broncos' third straight win for the
first time since they started 13-0 in 1998. ... San Diego's last
victory was in the 1999 finale, 12-6 over Denver at Mile High
Stadium. ... The Chargers lost SS Rodney Harrison with a strained
hamstring in the first quarter. RB Kenny Bynum also strained a
hamstring, DE Neil Smith went out with a sprained knee, OG DeMingo
Graham had a knee injury, and FB Fred McCrary and long snapper
David Binn had hip pointers. ... Denver lost CB Ray Crockett with a
strained left hamstring in the third quarter.
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ALSO SEE
San Diego Clubhouse
Denver Clubhouse
Broncos take another hit, Davis misses game vs. Chargers
AUDIO/VIDEO
 An emotional Gus Frerotte hopes the Broncos can build on their victory over the Chargers.
wav: 136 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Junior Seau explains what happened to the Chargers' 17-point lead.
wav: 206 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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