San Diego – Judge not Jake Plummer on benching alone.
He is not bitter at watching a kid quarterback take his place, as so many veterans might be. Fans can criticize him. Broncos coach Mike Shanahan can determine he’s not playing him. But whether as a starter or a benchwarmer, Plummer always has been about winning.
Reduced to spectator during the game at San Diego on Sunday, Plummer became the Broncos’ emotional leader at halftime. His team down 28-3, Plummer was not going to take it standing around.
At halftime, it was Plummer who exhorted his teammates not to give up, to take it one play a time, to hang in there. Throughout the game, Plummer was seen animatedly discussing past plays and series with the kid who replaced him, Jay Cutler.
Apparently, just because Plummer no longer plays doesn’t mean he no longer cares.
“Jake’s been great through this whole switch,” Cutler said. “I don’t think a lot of people know that, but I can’t compliment him enough. He’s still taking his role as a leader seriously. During the game, he kept telling everybody, ‘We’re still in it.”‘
Plummer’s words may have eventually pushed the Broncos, but only so far. Behind two touchdown passes from Cutler to rookie tight end Tony Scheffler, the Broncos outscored the Chargers 17-0 in the third quarter, only to fade in the fourth.
Darrent’s tough day
This time, there was no explanation that the typical fan didn’t realize coverages were blown, and Broncos right cornerback Darrent Williams wasn’t victimized nearly as bad as it seemed.
This time, there was no excuse. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers continuously picked on Williams.
“They caught like three passes deep double moves,” Williams said. “I feel like I didn’t have a good game. There were plays I could have made and I didn’t make. It wasn’t one of my signature good games.”
Williams gave up a quick, 35-yard completion from Rivers to Vincent Jackson and later a 55-yard, fourth-quarter strike to the former Northern Colorado receiver that helped the Chargers regain momentum. There was also a 26-yard pass to Antonio Gates and a missed tackle on LaDainian Tomlinson’s record- setting touchdown run.
“That’s life of a defensive back,” Shanahan said. “(Williams) had a couple big plays and he had a couple (duds) in there and you’ve got to scratch it out of your mind and keep on fighting. He’s had a heck of a season, and anytime you give up a couple big plays, it’s always tough. This guy always plays full speed. I love the way he plays and competes, and he’ll come back even stronger.”
Playoff picture
Thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs suffering a rare home, December loss to Baltimore on Sunday, and a head-to-head game in two weeks against the Cincinnati Bengals at Invesco Field at Mile High, the Broncos are hardly eliminated from the AFC playoff race.
The bad news: The Broncos would not be in the AFC playoffs if the season ended today. The Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars currently possess the final two playoff spots with 8-5 records. The Broncos are 7-6, as are the Chiefs and New York Jets.
But if the Broncos win their final three games, they would be 10-6. If the Bengals win the other two, they would also be 10-6 by virtue of a loss in Denver.
Should the Chiefs lose one more game and finish 9-7 or worse – they play at San Diego, at Oakland and home against Jacksonville – the 10-6 Broncos would have the tiebreaker over the Bengals for a playoff spot.
“It’s basically a three-game season,” tight end Stephen Alexander said as he gingerly slipped on his shirt above his heavily bandaged, badly bruised ribs. “Got to win out now to have any chance. To be honest, I don’t even know if that will work. I don’t know all the scenarios and what has to happen. Hopefully, if we can win the next three and somehow, some way get in.”
Elam OK
Kicker Jason Elam, who suffered a hamstring injury on his plant leg Dec. 3 against Seattle during a fake field-goal attempt, said he didn’t suffer a setback kicking in Sunday’s game.
“That’s a real positive thing,” Elam said. “I continue to improve and it should be no problem next week.”
Elam kicked field goals of 34 and 33 yards and two extra points.
“Fortunately, they weren’t real long field goals,” Elam said.
Elam was noticeably limping after his first field goal. He said his plant leg locked up on him afterward. He said that happened a couple of times during pregame warm-ups. However, Elam said he had no further discomfort after his three final kicks.
Nice play
Cornerback Champ Bailey said he was trying to make a play on a 12-yard touchdown catch by San Diego all-pro tight end Antonio Gates in the first quarter. But Gates simply jumped up and made the play.
“I saw that it was probably going to Gates so I left my guy and tried to get other there to try to steal the ball,” Bailey said. “I didn’t know where he was going, but Gates saw me. He just got up and made it. I was going for the ball, but he made a great play.”
Foxworth starts again
For the second straight game, Domonique Foxworth started at strong safety. He likely will remain there the rest of the season. Foxworth is playing because Nick Ferguson is out for the year with a knee injury. Curome Cox, who started at safety at Kansas City, is playing the nickel defensive back, a role Foxworth had as Denver’s No. 3 cornerback.
Defensive coordinator Larry Coyer said last week that he could see Foxworth becoming a full-time safety down the road. Foxworth said he is open to the possibility.
“I never thought it would happen this early in my career,” Foxworth said. “But we’ll see what happens. I’m open to anything that helps the team.”
Inactive
Right tackle Adam Meadows missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury. He was replaced by George Foster. Meadows was hurt in the first quarter at Kansas City on Nov. 23.
In addition to Meadows, Denver’s inactive players were wide receiver Quincy Morgan, running backs Damien Nash and Cedric Cobbs, safety Steve Cargile, tight end Chad Mustard and defensive linemen Kenny Peterson and Antwon Burton.
And we quote
Rivers, on Tomlinson’s confrontation with Williams en route to the end zone for his record-setting 29th rushing touchdown: “Ninety-nine times out of 100 he isn’t going to tackle him. And he didn’t.”
And we quote, part II
You’ll have to forgive the Chargers for not being overjoyed by winning the AFC West. Said Marty Schottenheimer, “I don’t think that’s ever been the singular goal around here.”
Footnotes
Scary thought of the day: The Chargers are 11-2 and both losses were on the road (Baltimore, Kansas City) by three points apiece. … Tomlinson’s next order of business? He’s two points from tying Paul Hornung’s all-time single-season record of 176 points, which included 15 touchdowns, 41 extra points and 15 field goals. … The win was the 202nd of Schottenheimer’s career, making him the sixth all-time winningest coach in NFL history. He had been tied with Dan Reeves at 201. … The Chargers’ 48 points were the most they had scored against the Broncos since the AFL-NFL merger. They scored 58 in 1963 and 55 in 1968. … The Broncos didn’t report any significant injuries. … Actor Lee Majors was a sideline visitor before the game. Majors is an acquaintance of Shanahan’s. … Marques Harris, a Grand Junction High School product who played three years at Colorado before transferring to Southern Utah, started at linebacker for the Chargers. … The Chargers clinched the division at home for the first time since 1981.
Staff writer Jim Armstrong contributed to this report.
