SAN DIEGO — Cornerback Dre Bly sat slumped on the Broncos’ bench, his arms folded across his chest and his face in a scowl.
Problem was, it was only halftime.
But by then it was clear Denver’s defense wasn’t going to be able to stop San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers or slow running back LaDainian Tomlinson or even tame Tomlinson’s backup, Darren Sproles.
The glare hadn’t left Bly’s face when time expired on San Diego’s 52-21 victory — and Denver’s season. Bly was the first player off the Qualcomm Stadium field and led a somber parade of Broncos into their final postgame locker room of the season.
“When you look up at the scoreboard and see 52 points, it hurts,” Bly said, “especially with the way we’ve been playing at times this year. We just haven’t been consistent, and playoff-caliber teams have to be more consistent, definitely down the stretch.”
Plenty of changes are sure to come for that defense, though coach Mike Shanahan said defensive coordinator Bob Slowik will stay.
The 2007 Denver defense gave up 409 total points, and coaches were concerned enough that they made some major offseason changes, including moving linebacker D.J. Williams from the middle to the weak side, signing strongside linebacker Boss Bailey and defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson and running a streamlined scheme installed by Slowik, Denver’s third defensive coordinator in as many seasons.
There were injuries, sure — among them a season-ending injury to Boss Bailey, and a groin injury that kept corner Champ Bailey out of seven games — but the 2008 version of the defense turned out to be even more dismal. The final tally was 448 points scored by Denver’s opponents, an average of 28 per game.
Told of that total, safety Marquand Manuel could only shake his head.
“I didn’t know it was that many,” Manuel said. “I’m speechless. We’ve just got to get better. Got to get better.”
The 52 scored by the Chargers on Sunday night was yet another new low.
The Chargers racked up 491 total yards and had little trouble moving the ball on the ground — 248 combined rushing yards for tailbacks Tomlinson and Sproles and fullback Jacob Hester — or by air, with Rivers completing 15-of-20 passes for a passer rating of 141.
“We couldn’t slow them down,” Shanahan said.
But the Denver defense hasn’t been able to slow anyone over the past three weeks as the team fumbled away its chance to win the division and earn its first trip to the playoffs since 2005.
The Broncos allowed 30 or more points in nine games, including each of their AFC West rivals and each of their final three opponents. The Chargers scored 90 points in their two games against Denver.
Still, Shanahan and defensive players insisted they felt at times as if they were on the brink of becoming a solid defense.
Road victories against Cleveland, Atlanta and the New York Jets — each played without several veteran starters — will do that.
But by the fourth quarter Sunday night, the Denver defense revealed itself to be not much better than the group that gave up 38 points to San Diego, 32 to New Orleans and 33 to Kansas City on consecutive Sundays in September.
“What we did this year, it wasn’t acceptable,” Bly said.
While Shanahan insisted that Slowik will stay — unlike Jim Bates and Larry Coyer, the last two coordinators who were quickly fired — he acknowledged the need to make plenty of other changes if the defense can ever catch up to the offense.
“Defensively, we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Shanahan said.
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
