SAN DIEGO — According to Brandon Marshall, a certain fourth-quarter touchdown pass that was lost when the wide receiver tripped over the goal-line chalk wasn’t the most frustrating thing about the Broncos’ loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, just the last.
“It got frustrating in the first half,” Marshall said after Denver’s 52-21 defeat. “Seeing that three-game lead come down to this, and then seeing San Diego kind of take off on us . . . but that’s football.”
Truth be told, the missed opportunity to Marshall wouldn’t have made much of a difference in the Broncos’ inability to capture the AFC West title after taking a three-game lead into the final three games of the season. But the so-close-and-yet-so-far play may have encapsulated the team’s season, one that Marshall admitted was “up and down.”
The same certainly could be said of the third-year player from Central Florida. After an offseason filled with dramas ranging from court cases to severely injuring his arm after falling into a television set, Marshall emerged as a force for Denver, catching 104 passes for 1,265 yards. Those numbers were good enough to garner Marshall his first Pro Bowl berth.
But other figures weren’t as flattering. Throughout the season, Marshall ranked near the league lead in dropped passes. Also, his total of six touchdown receptions called into question his abilities as a game-breaker.
But Sunday, Marshall, who caught six passes for 55 yards in the game, said the evening wasn’t about individual performances. Instead, he said, the focus was on a team that in the present tense “had it rough during the year. We tried to make the best of it, but we came up short.”
That’s not to say, he continued, that Denver would be unable to get back to a similar position, even making the plays to come out on top, next season.
“We need to play better as a team through all three phases. We didn’t get it done — it’s as simple as that,” he said. “Hopefully, next year will be better for us. We have a lot to be thankful for, a lot to grow on. We have an explosive offense, a lot of guys who can make plays. We just have to get better.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
