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Late in the 4th quarter of Denver's 35-21 win over the San Diego Chargers, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was seen angrily trying to hush the crowd.
Peyton Manning needed Denver fans to shut up: (Vine via @19jms) http://t.co/X4z5iKQbRQ https://t.co/AIgpqsBMgx
— SB Nation (@SBNation) October 24, 2014
Manning had a reason to be angry - the loud crowd caused right tackle Paul Cornick to false start, turning a 2nd and 5 into a 2nd and 10. The Broncos would end up punting two play later.
It turns out he wasn't angry at Broncos fans, like I (and many others) thought - he was mad at the scoreboard operator.
"I've got to have a little talk with our scoreboard operator," Manning said after the game. "It wasn't his best night."
Manning said he felt it was unwise to show Aqib Talib and other Broncos players dancing in celebration in the game's final minutes with his offense on the field needing a quiet environment. He also thought it was disrespectful to show Philip Rivers' face on Denver's massive Thundervision screen as the Chargers QB was down two touchdowns.
The full quote from Manning, via the Broncos -
"I have no problem with our fans, our fans are great. I've got a problem with our scoreboard operator. I've got to have a little talk with him. I'm not sure what he's doing. He's playing music and showing players dancing and getting the crowd fired up when we have the ball. I don't think we should be doing that. I don't think we should be showing their quarterback on the sideline. I thought it was disrespectful. Our fans were great-our fans were loud-but the scoreboard operator, it wasn't his best night."
Manning. All class. Not even Chargers fans can disagree with that sentiment.
Although maybe the Broncos' scoreboard operator can.
Peyton just ripped the scoreboard operator. In other news, the Broncos need a new scoreboard operator.
— Nate Kreckman (@NateKreckman) October 24, 2014
This post was updated with Manning's full quote.