Mike McCoy stood there on the sideline.

A front-row view.

He saw an undrafted rookie be needed at left tackle, get carted off with a knee injury and then, because no one else was left, return to play right guard and left guard. He saw an undrafted rookie catch his first career pass, 80 yards for a score. He saw the AFC West champion with the No. 1 playoff seed be pushed 12 rounds by a now 12-loss team.

McCoy was on the sideline Sunday.


All indications are he’ll be next season, too.

Complete coverage: Broncos 27, Chargers 20

The Chargers will finalize Monday whether or not McCoy will be retained as their head coach. His team gave him one last endorsement with its play, leading the Broncos as late as the fourth quarter of a 27-20 loss at Sports Authority Field.

Another loss.

No sugar-coating that.


1 / 40 Chargers Malcom Floyd warms up before a game against the Broncos. Floyd is playing in his final game. (K.C. Alfred) 2 / 40 Chargers coach Mike McCoy signs autographs before a game against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 3 / 40 Chargers Philip Rivers takes the field before a game against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 4 / 40 Chargers Antonio Gates takes the field before a game against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 5 / 40 Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning stands during introductions against the Chargers. (K.C. Alfred) 6 / 40 Charger Malcom Floyd lines up during his final game against the Broncos. .. (K.C. Alfred) 7 / 40 Chargers Steve Williams recovers a fumble by Broncos Emmanuel Sanders. (K.C. Alfred) 8 / 40 Chargers Steve Williams intercepts a pass by Broncos Brock Osweiler. (K.C. Alfred) 9 / 40 Chargers Philip Rivers reacts to an incompleter pass in the 2nd quarter against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 10 / 40 Chargers Malcom Floyd got injured attempting to catch a pass in the 2nd quarter against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 11 / 40 Chargers Malcom Floyd got injured attempting to catch a pass in the 2nd quarter against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 12 / 40 A Broncos fan looks on during a game against the Chargers. .. (K.C. Alfred) 13 / 40 Chargers Denzel Perryman tackles Broncos Ronnie Hillman for a loss in the 2nd quarter. (K.C. Alfred) 14 / 40 Chargers Philip Rivers runs the ball and is tackled by Broncos Shane Ray. (K.C. Alfred) 15 / 40 Chargers Tyrell Williams runs in a touchdown pass against the Broncos in the 4th quarter. (K.C. Alfred) 16 / 40 Chargers Philip Rivers celebrates a touchdown pass to Tyrell Williams against the Broncos in the 4th quarter. (K.C. Alfred) 17 / 40 Broncos Ronnie Hillman runs in the game winning touchdown against the Chargers during a 27-20 win. (K.C. Alfred) 18 / 40 Broncos Ronnie Hillman celebrates the game winning touchdown against the Chargers in a 27-20 victory. (K.C. Alfred) 19 / 40 Chargers Philip Rivers reacts to an incompletion on 4th down in the 4th quarter against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 20 / 40 Broncos Peyton Manning was all smiles after a 27-20 win over the Chargers. (K.C. Alfred) 21 / 40 Chargers coach Mike McCoy meets with Broncos Peyton Manning after a 27-20 loss to the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 22 / 40 Broncos Peyton Manning was all smiles after a 27-20 win over the Chargers. (K.C. Alfred) 23 / 40 Chargers Philip Rivers walks off the field after a 27-20 loss to the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 24 / 40 Broncos Peyton Manning throws against the Chargers in a 27-20 win. (K.C. Alfred) 25 / 40 Chargers Tyreek Burwell lays injured during a game against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 26 / 40 Chargers Antonio Gates catches a touchdown pass over Broncos Shiloh Keo in the 3rd quarter. (K.C. Alfred) 27 / 40 Broncos Peyton Manning hands off to C.J. Anderson in the 3rd quarter against the Chargers in a 27-20 win. (K.C. Alfred) 28 / 40 Chargers Philip Rivers reacts to throwing an interception to Broncos Shiloh Keo. (K.C. Alfred) 29 / 40 Broncos cheerleaders perform during a game against the Chargers. . (K.C. Alfred) 30 / 40 Chargers Philip Rivers looks on during a game against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 31 / 40 Chargers Philip Rivers hands off to Donald Brown during a game against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 32 / 40 Chargers Mike Schifres punts against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 33 / 40 Chargers Mike Schifres punts against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 34 / 40 Chargers Josh Lambo celebrates a field goal against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 35 / 40 Broncos Peyton Manning calls out a play against the Chargers in a 27-20 win. (K.C. Alfred) 36 / 40 Chargers Danny Woodhead can’t make a catch on a 4th down play in the 3rd quarter against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 37 / 40 Chargers Cassius Vaughn breaks up a pass to Broncos Demaryius Thomas in the 4th quarter. (K.C. Alfred) 38 / 40 Chargers Donald Brown runs the ball in the 4th quarter against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 39 / 40 Chargers Philip Rivers throws an incomplete pass on a 4th down in the 4th quarter against the Broncos. (K.C. Alfred) 40 / 40 Broncos Peyton Manning calls out a play against the Chargers. (K.C. Alfred)

It’s been one long, bad, brutal year. The NFL doesn’t assign No. 3 draft picks for nothing. The Chargers finished 0-6 in their division and have lost eight straight since 2014. This was their first winless AFC West campaign since 1984.

Upgrades are needed.

Changes are coming.


But that a game like the one Sunday, one in which so much was thrown at the Chargers and they didn’t throw a towel back in return, was seen repeatedly in 2015 is partly why every indication is McCoy won’t be among those changes.

“A lot of speculation has been made, but he’s a great coach,” tight end Antonio Gates said. “He instills that fight and that belief in our team.”

“It says a lot to me about the head coach,” quarterback Philip Rivers said, “when players play the way they played in these types of situations, these character games.”

They were tested.


Two offensive linemen, left tackle Chris Hairston and center Trevor Robinson, were limited all week with injuries. Hairston started for King Dunlap but aggravated his abdomen injury in the first quarter. In came Tyreek Burwell, an undrafted rookie who played 32 offensive snaps all season. In the second quarter, Robinson aggravated his shoulder injury.

Neither returned.

The team was down to one reserve available. One became none when Burwell took a shot to his right knee, suffering what was diagnosed as an MCL sprain. An MRI on Monday will determine the severity, but that was just the beginning of his day.

Jeff Linkenbach, an ex-Dolphin claimed off waivers last month, made his team debut for Burwell. Minutes later, Burwell limped out of the locker room in case he was needed. He was. Right guard D.J. Fluker missed a third-quarter snap to an ankle injury. In the fourth, right tackle Joe Barksdale succumbed to a first-half ankle injury. So, left guard Kenny Wiggins switched to right tackle, and Burwell re-entered at left guard.


Wiggins was the only Chargers lineman to play every offensive snap of their finale. In Week 1, he wasn’t on the roster and hadn’t ever played a regular-season snap.

“You couldn’t make this stuff up,” Rivers said.

Wide receiver Malcom Floyd suffered a second-quarter concussion, so ending his 12-year career. Undrafted rookie Tyrell Williams saw extra work and was wide open on the Rivers deep ball for 80 yards in the fourth quarter.

On defense, a secondary without safety Eric Weddle, cornerback Jason Verrett and cornerback Brandon Flowers lost cornerback Patrick Robinson, too, to a chest injury. Cornerback Cassius Vaughn, signed Wednesday, was left to cover wide receiver DeMaryius Thomas. Brandian Ross, signed Wednesday, worked as the third safety.


And yet, the Chargers force five turnovers. They forced a quarterback switch from Brock Osweiler to Peyton Manning. As the offense largely flustered, they kept this a game.

“It’s always a minus grade when you lose,” Rivers said. “You never say, ‘Oh, that was good.’ But if that’s the No. 1 seed in the AFC and with all that we dealt with today, to be in that game tied (with five minutes left), we’re going to be all right. We’re going to be all right. We gave them all they wanted.”

They gave John Spanos, the Chargers’ president of football operations, further incentive to keep McCoy on the sideline.