DENVER (Ticker) -- Jake Plummer's return provided Shannon Sharpe and the Denver Broncos with a shot in the arm.
After missing four games with a broken left foot, Plummer threw three touchdown passes to Sharpe as the Broncos snapped a three-game losing streak with a 37-8 rout of the San Diego Chargers.
Sharpe's three TDs gave him 61 for his career, surpassing Jerry Smith's record for career scores by a tight end. It was his first three-touchdown game since October 6, 1996 against the Chargers.
"I told Mike (coach Mike Shanahan) right before we walked out, I said, 'Mike, if you're going to call my number, I'll go in and change my shoes and come out with the red ones.' And he was like, 'Red shoes?' and I said, 'I'll clown today if you call my number.' And he called my number."
Sharpe, already the all-time leader in catches and yards by a tight end, finished with seven receptions for 101 yards.
Clinton Portis rushed for 106 yards on 25 carries and Rod Smith had 10 receptions for 84 yards. Smith also returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown - his first career return for a score - for Denver (6-4), which was coming off a much-needed bye week.
While Plummer went 23-of-34 for 253 yards with an interception, San Diego's Doug Flutie had a miserable game, completing just 9-of-25 passes for 70 yards, one TD and an interception. Flutie, who accounted for four touchdowns in last week's win over Minnesota, also lost three fumbles.
"Just before the snap of that first one, I looked down at the ball because it looked like a 'kicking' ball," Flutie said. "It was real shiny and slick. Those balls seemed really slick. I don't know what happened, and I'm not here to blame it on anybody. On the second one, I felt like I put it in the pocket, and I could feel it slide off his jersey. It was just sliding. I don't know why. Those balls were really shiny."
Flutie fumbled twice in the opening two minutes, with Denver taking advantage of the second opportunity on an 11-yard pass from Plummer to Sharpe just 1:54 into the contest.
"Shannon is a guy who gets open," Plummer said. "Before that first score, he was yelling 'Hey, Snake, throw it my way. I guarantee you I'll get open.' After he scored, I told him that I'd have to go to him every time he told me to now.
Denver opened up a 20-0 advantage on Smith's punt return with 8:25 left in the second quarter and took a 27-0 lead into the break on a 26-yard pass from Plummer to Sharpe in the final minute.
"Offensively, it was nice to get Jake back," Shanahan said. "I really thought he came in and played well. He'll be the first person to tell you that it is very tough to come back after being off for four weeks, and ask a guy to come in and play at the level he played at. I am very impressed with that. Nothing was perfect, but he hung in there and kept on competing and really gave us the spark that we needed."
"I felt great," Plummer said. "It's hard to explain as a player what you feel when you're watching and can't do anything to contribute. But it definitely felt great getting out there."
LaDainian Tomlinson was limited to 29 yards on just eight carries for San Diego (2-8). He came into the contest needing 58 yards for a third straight 1,000-yard season.
"I might need to take the defensive guys out tonight, because they were really helping me," Portis said. "I'm moving up the (NFL) charts, and LaDainian is falling down them."
The Chargers were outgained by an astonishing 448-96, and held the ball for just 15:49.
"This is one of the most disappointing losses I've been involved with," Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer said. "I thought we performed in a winning fashion a week ago. But we were clearly outmatched in performance today - I mean, that's obvious."
Denver outscored San Diego by a combined 74-21 in their two games this season.
