SAN DIEGO – Thursday was a special night for San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator John Pagano, and not just because of the role his players had in a stunning upset of Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.
Pagano is from Colorado, and his father, Sam, a longtime high school coach in Boulder, watched from the sideline. Pagano grew emotional Friday while talking about hugging his father at the end of the 27-20 victory, which kept alive the Chargers' playoff chances.
Says Pagano: "It's something that as a kid you dream about."
Pagano says the Chargers' plan was "to disrupt and disguise and take away certain guys that we needed to take away. We did all those things and executed it."
Manning looked average and threw a late interception that sealed the victory, and San Diego shut down Denver's running game.
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