Rich Gannon might have said it best when the Los Angeles Chargers were forced to burn a timeout in the fourth quarter Sunday, just moments after taking a delay of game penalty.

“This is bad football,” Gannon said as Philip Rivers shook his head walking off the field. Had you watched just that exchange, you might have thought the Denver Broncos were leaving StubHub Center with a victory on their first trip to Los Angeles since 1994.

Gannon wasn’t just talking about the Chargers, though. The Broncos were shut out, 21-0, their first time failing to score a point since Nov. 22, 1992 (also occurring in L.A., but against the Raiders).

In an ugly game for both sides, the Broncos were shut out despite accruing more total yards (251 to 242) and winning the possession battle. Three Denver turnovers were the big difference in a game that produced a combined 16 punts and only 26 total first downs (five of those by penalty).

Trevor Siemian was sacked five times in the game. The Broncos’ QB fumbled once and threw a fourth-quarter interception deep in Chargers territory.

A disastrous first half for the Denver offense saw the Broncos fall behind 14-0 and run just one play in Chargers territory. Denver committed two turnovers in the first half (an A.J. Derby fumble and one by Siemian) and gave up a punt return for a touchdown to dig a deep hole to dig out of for an offense that produced only 109 total yards in the half.

Things didn’t start easily for Siemian and the Denver offense in second half after Drew Kaser boomed a 69-yard punt on L.A.’s first possession (a three-and-out). Long snapper Mike Windt downed the ball at the one-yard line after the kick.

Siemian and company picked up a first down on a Jamaal Charles three-yard run and a catch and reach by Jordan Taylor, but punted three plays later.

Los Angeles continued to win the field-position battle, while the Denver defense did all it could to keep the team in the game. Domata Peko‘s sack of Rivers on first-and-10 after an initial Chargers’ first down set up another Kaser punt – his sixth of the day.

That set the stage for what initially looked like Denver’s biggest offensive play of the season. Siemian hit Demaryius Thomas down the right sideline for an 81-yard catch and run, but Thomas was flagged for offensive pass interference and the play was nullified. Siemian was nearly intercepted for the seventh time this season when defensive end Joey Bosa got a hand on a third-down pass. Fortunately for Denver, Jatavis Brown muffed the wobbling pass and Denver escaped with a punt instead of a turnover deep in their own territory.

The Chargers punted for the seventh time of the day (just one behind Denver at the time) and Siemian again narrowly escaped an interception on the next possession. Virgil Green and Kyle Emanuel battled for an under-thrown deep ball down the right side, with it ultimately popping out of Emanuel hands. C.J. Anderson finally picked up a first down for Denver with a 11-yard run; a throw to Andy Janovich on the very next play went for another. The Broncos were finally starting to gain a little momentum on offense as the third quarter came to a close.

Anderson picked up a badly needed first down on third-and-three coming out of the quarter break and the Broncos were moving in Chargers territory for only the second time of the game. However, Siemian was sacked for the fourth time on the day on the next play, as Bosa beat Allen Barbre. Desperate for points and short on time after a downfield miss on third down, Siemian and the Broncos were forced to go for it on fourth-and-six from the Chargers’ 31. That’s when the near-interception bug finally caught up with Siemian.

Flushed from the pocked, Siemian tried to float one to Thomas, only to sail it clearly over the head of his intended receiver and into the waiting hands of Casey Hayward.

L.A.’s own futility on offense manifested itself on the ensuing possession, as the Chargers took that delay of game penalty that caused Gannon to categorize this as “bad football.” But on that same drive Los Angeles started chipping away at a tiring Denver defense. Travis Benjamin scored his second touchdown of the day (the first coming on a punt return in the first half) – a 42-yard catch and run to extend the score to 21-0. The drive went 92 yards and chewed up 6:53 on the clock. Benjamin ended the day with just one catch, but 134 all-purpose yards and two scores.

Rookie Brendan Langley gave the Broncos a little spark on the ensuing kickoff with a 60-yard return, giving Siemian and the offense the ball at the Chargers’ 43-yard line. The Chargers backed off in coverage and Denver picked up a couple of first downs inside Los Angeles territory. Back-to-back penalties on the offensive line, however, put Denver in a first-and-25 situation at the L.A. 26-yard line. Siemian was crushed again on third down, again fumbling the football – this time it was recovered by Garett Bolles – and Denver turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert on fourth-and-26.

Head coach Vance Joseph would use his final two timeouts on the ensuing drive to ensure his team touched the ball one more time. Von Miller picked up his second sack of the game, although it meant nothing at the time. Denver ran one play after the Chargers punted, but it was not enough to put points on the board.

The loss runs Denver’s record to 3-3 after starting the season 3-1. Denver has lost back-to-back games after their bye and now face a gauntlet as they travel to first-place Kansas City for a “Monday Night Football” matchup next week and then to Philadelphia to face the (currently) 5-1 Eagles. (Philadelphia hosts Washington on Monday night this week.)

The 3-3 Broncos remain in second place in the AFC West despite the loss. Both Los Angeles and Oakland are 3-4, while the Chiefs are 5-2.

Here’s what the team at MHS and some of our favorite follows on Twitter were saying as the historic game played out in the second half…

https://twitter.com/TJCarpenterShow/status/922227046343958529

https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/922230866570567680