DENVER—Not even the fans were safe from blame Sunday.
As the frustration built in the most embarrassing loss in the Mike Shanahan era, Broncos fans at Invesco Field booed, berated and—beginning early in the second half—bolted. By the time the clock expired on the 41-3 Chargers rout, the stadium was almost empty.
While most Denver players said they understood the fans’ behavior, second-year receiver Brandon Marshall took it as a slap to the face.
“If you’re going to be a Broncos fan, be a Broncos fan. Don’t boo us when we’re down. That’s bandwagon,” said Marshall, who caught seven passes for 72 yards. “When we start winning, then what?”
Marshall, who has already earned a reputation for his lively personality, didn’t stop there. He poked again at Denver fans, known widely as some of the most faithful in the NFL, by pointing out their response to the surprising Colorado Rockies, who turned a mediocre season into a berth in the NLCS in less than a month.
“At the beginning of the (baseball) season, were you filling the stands? Now you all want to fill the stands,” Marshall said. “Do the same thing for us, but 100 percent all the time. When we’re losing, you all stay in those seats.
“I love you all to death, but at the same time, that’s not first class.”
By comparison, the Chargers fans were in full force Sunday. At the end of the game, a delegation of blue-clad fans, one waving a giant Chargers blanket, gathered above the visitors’ tunnel to cheer the team off the field.
On the other side, the only noise was from anger and insult. The rest of the stadium sat empty.
“I don’t blame them at all. I wouldn’t have stayed around to watch that,” Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley said. “There was nothing good about that game.”
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INJURY TO INSULT:@ The Broncos’ pride wasn’t the only thing hurting after Sunday’s loss. Multiple key players left the stadium with worrisome injuries.
The most visible ailment was to All-Pro cornerback Champ Bailey, who left the game in the first half with a quadriceps injury. He returned in the second quarter, but left again in the second half and did not return.
Coach Mike Shanahan said he didn’t know the extent of Bailey’s injury.
“It was serious enough for him not to go back into the game,” Shanahan said. “That’s not good, because Champ usually plays hurt. For him not to be in there is a big concern.”
The other concern was the massive bandage veteran center Tom Nalen wore on his right elbow in the locker room after the game. Nalen didn’t expand on the injury but said it was new, and that he wouldn’t know until Monday how serious it was.
Tight end Nate Jackson injured his groin in the second half, and Stokley left late with a head injury.
“I just got dinged and felt a little woozy,” Stokley said. “But I don’t think it’s anything serious. I don’t know if it was a full concussion or a slight one.”
Shanahan said defensive end Simeon Rice was inactive for Sunday’s game due to a lingering shoulder injury, and top receiver Javon Walker missed his second straight game with swelling in his surgically repaired right knee.
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END RUN:@ Travis Henry quickly dressed and ducked out a side door.
The Broncos’ troubled tailback, who came into the game as the NFL’s leading rusher, was in no mood to talk after his 65-yard effort on 16 carries Sunday.
Asked on his way out if the Broncos’ lopsided loss was just one of those days, Henry said, “Guess so.”
Henry’s future is in legal limbo while he fights the league over a drug test result.
He’s also battling right knee and ankle injuries, but said those were fine and didn’t bother him.
“I’m good,” he said. “I came out good.”
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MORE BITTER THAN SWEET:@ One of the lone Broncos’ bright spots Sunday came courtesy of second-year tight end Tony Scheffler, who caught his first two passes of the season for 37 yards. He also blocked a punt in the fourth quarter, the first for Denver since 2003.
An emerging weapon for Denver at the end of last season, Scheffler has been slowed this year by a broken foot he suffered during an offseason minicamp.
“I’d take a team win over an individual performance any Sunday, but it does feel good to get back out there and play a few plays,” Scheffler said. “I’m very confident in my abilities, but I haven’t had that opportunity to showcase that.”
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HOME WRECKER:@ Colorado Springs native and former Northern Colorado star Vincent Jackson had another strong game in his home state Sunday, catching three passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Last season, in his first pro game in Denver, Jackson also caught a touchdown pass.
On Sunday, the big receiver’s biggest play came in the third quarter, when he caught a 45-yard pass from quarterback Philip Rivers on second-and-33 to further demoralize the Broncos’ defense.
“It adds a little fun to it, to come back and play in front of the hometown crowd,” Jackson said. “I had some guys from high school and college sitting up at the top.”
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EXTRA POINTS:@ Denver WR Glenn Martinez caught six passes for 70 yards in the loss. He had one career catch coming into the game. The Chargers had eight plays that gained 20 or more yards.
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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham and AP freelancers Bill Wilson and Brad Cohen contributed to this report.
