DENVER (Ticker) -- Gus Frerotte and the Denver Broncos are done being charitable.
Frerotte overcame four interceptions by throwing three of his career-high five touchdown passes in the fourth quarter as Denver rallied for an improbable 38-37 victory over the winless San Diego Chargers.
The Broncos (7-4) were responsible for both New England's and Cincinnati's first win this season and appeared on the verge of letting San Diego get off the schneid after an 0-10 start.
But Frerotte caught fire with his team in a 34-17 hole to start the fourth quarter. He hit Rod Smith with a 26-yard scoring strike, found tight end Desmond Clark from 10 yards out and hit Ed McCaffrey with a five-yard TD pass with 1:37 to play, giving Denver its fifth win in six games.
"These games are going to kill me," Denver coach Mike Shanahan joked of his team's penchant for pulling games out late. "I'm really proud of my football team. The way we fought, we made some mistakes but still found a way to win. It tells you a lot about the character of our guys.
"There have not been too many times when I give a guy a game ball right after the game. But I did today. For (Frerotte) to have four interceptions and a fumble and still have the intestinal fortitude, I thought was really a tribute to him."
Subbing for injured starter Brian Griese (shoulder) and without running back Terrell Davis (calf), Frerotte completed 36-of-58 passes -- both career bests -- for a team-record 462 yards. The previous mark of 447 was held by Frank Tripucka (1962).
"I don't think I've ever thrown 58 passes in practice," Frerotte said. "It was an amazing day. The coaches have confidence in me and I just coming out and throwing it. Our guys just kept making plays. What a win."
Smith caught 11 passes for 187 yards and McCaffrey had 10 for 148 as Denver rolled up 536 yards of total offense and tied a team record with 34 first downs.
"It's very rewarding because tonight was so much of a rollercoaster," McCaffrey said. "So many wild things happened on both sides of the ball. The team really played hard and we came together. Hats off to Gus. Even when certain plays didn't work, namely to myself, he found a way to believe in his players and lead this team to victory."
San Diego's Ryan Leaf emerged from an injured knee and his checkered past to throw for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Infamous for his failure to produce since being selected with the second overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft, Leaf had the type of day former Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard was hoping for when he selected him out of Washington State.
Leaf's 83-yard TD pass to Jeff Graham with 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter gave San Diego a 17-point lead and a good chance at its first win since beating the Broncos here in last season's finale. Instead, the Chargers matched the 1975 team for the worst start in franchise history and are just five losses away from the first 0-16 season in NFL history.
"We had opportunities to win and everybody fought," Leaf said. "I feel disappointed for my teammates more than anything. It's just the story of our season. I have to take every opportunity I get because I don't know how long this career will last."
The last winless team in the NFL was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who finished 0-14 in their inaugural 1976 campaign.
"Well, you know obviously this was a very hard loss for our team considering the state we've been in," said San Diego coach Mike Riley, who led his team to an 8-8 mark last season. "I thought we did a good job of making some plays and getting the lead. The Broncos did a great job of getting better as the game went on."
Frerotte capped a nine-play, 60-yard drive 13 seconds into the second quarter when he hit McCaffrey with a one-yard TD pass to give Denver a 7-3 lead.
But Leaf and the Chargers appeared to take the game by the throat soon after. Leaf hit Curtis Conway with a short pass over the middle that turned into a dazzling 68-yard score when Conway avoided several defenders and coasted down the right sideline to give San Diego a 10-7 lead less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Leaf hit Freddie Jones with a 20-yard pass and made an 11-yard run before finding Graham with a 45-yard TD pass to make it 17-7 with 3:15 left in the first half. Frerotte tried to answer but handed the Chargers a gift instead when his interception was returned 75 yards for a score by cornerback Scott Turner less that two minutes later, giving San Diego a 24-7 cushion.
Frerotte did complete a 40-yard pass to McCaffrey and two more passes to set up Jason Elam's 26-yard field goal that got Denver within two touchdowns before intermission.
But Frerotte fumbled early in the second half and linebacker Gerald Dixon recovered at the Broncos 20. Four plays later, John Carney split the uprights with a 31-yarder to make it 27-10.
Running back Jermaine Fazande returned the favor later in the period, when Keith Traylor recovered his fumble at the Chargers' 26. Frerotte cashed with a five-yard TD pass to tight end Dwayne Carswell with 5:18 left in the third quarter.
The momentum of that score seemed to disappear when Leaf found Graham with a perfectly thrown bomb down the right side, resulting in an 83-yard TD and a 34-17 lead in the waning moments of the period.
Graham caught four passes for 144 yards and Conway had four for 118.
Frerotte orchestrated a six-play, 65-yard drive and finished it off with a 26-yard pass to Smith as Denver crawled back within 10 points two minutes into the final period. But the seventh-year signal-caller appeared to again give away the game when he threw an interception to cornerback DeRon Jenkins that was returned to the Denver 42.
Leaf converted a pair of third downs with short passes and Carney kicked a 33-yard field goal to make it 37-24 with 7:13 to play.
But passes for 39 and 16 yards to Smith on the ensuing drive got the Broncos back into contention and when Frerotte hit Clark from 10 yards out, the San Diego lead was down to 37-31 with 4:59 remaining.
Unable to kill the clock, the Chargers were forced to punt. Rookie Deltha O'Neal brought the ball back to the San Diego 45 and Frerotte hit tight end Byron Chamberlain for 21 yards before finding rookie running back Mike Anderson with a seven yarder that moved the ball down to the 5.
The reception by Anderson was challenged and upheld, and on the next play, Frerotte and McCaffrey hooked up for the winning score.
"This might be the first time we've all had to go out and find something just a little bit deeper in ourselves," Smith said. "It started with Mike Anderson and the offensive line, they just wouldn't let us get down on ourselves. Brian Griese was on the sidelines and the defense was there too. That's what being a team is all about."
Leaf completed just 1-of-4 attempts on the Chargers' final drive as San Diego turned the ball over on downs with 43 seconds left.
"You've just got to come back to work on Monday," San Diego linebacker Junior Seau said. "Guys are out there fighting. They're doing the best they can. Perserverence is the key word. I believe good things will happen in the future. Ryan did a great job, you couldn't ask for anything more. I'm proud of the offense and what they did."
Anderson, filling in for Davis, had 97 yards on 19 carries.
