Broncos teammates Moreno, Marshall exchange words

Nobody on the Broncos seemed too concerned about a sideline incident between receiver Brandon Marshall and running back Knowshon Moreno. Moreno lost a fumble near the goal line in the second quarter, and Marshall had words for him. Moreno shoved Marshall, then had to be held back by teammates on the sidelines.

“I’ve got a lot of emotional players on our team, and I’m an emotional person myself,” coach Josh McDaniels said. “Sometimes that happens, I’m not saying it’s good, but as long as people can work those things out — we don’t want to make scenes or problems for ourselves on the sidelines — but there’s a lot of things that happen on the sideline that involve emotion.”

Moreno said it was nothing that would linger long term, that it happened in the heat of the moment. Marshall said he didn’t blame Moreno for the loss, adding that many plays contributed to the defeat.

McDaniels, Chargers exchange words
According to reports, the Chargers and Broncos coach Josh McDaniels had words before the game. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that McDaniels told the Chargers players “We own you,” during pregame warmups. McDaniels told the paper that the Chargers talked to him first.

“I’m not making a story about this,” McDaniels said. “If I did, I’d be able to tell you some things that aren’t for papers.”

Ayers inactive
The Broncos deactivated first-round pick Robert Ayers and gave his playing time to a former first-round pick, Jarvis Moss. Moss played in passing situations like Ayers did for the first nine games of the season but didn’t record a tackle.

“Just a coaching decision,” McDaniels said. “Trying to suit up the guys we thought gave us the best chance to win. A lot of things go into those things.”