DENVER -- Not even Bella, Brian Griese's now famous quarterback-sacking golden retriever, could have gotten to his master Sunday. Griese was in the best rhythm of his five-year Broncos career in Denver's 26-9 victory over the Chargers.

Of course, Griese knew that he didn't have the luxury of stumbling down the step in this crucial game against the upstart San Diego Chargers. Three practice days with an angry Mike Shanahan put everyone on warning, and Griese, who almost became a sideline spectator in the opener against the Rams, had to get into a flow early.

Griese was great in the first half. He was 18 of 22 for 226 yards, two touchdowns, no sacks and no blindside tackles from Bella. Of his four incompletions, two were spikes to stop the clock in the final minute of the first half. One incompletion was a drop by tight end Dwayne Carswell. Another was an interception in which Chargers middle linebacker Zeke Moreno hit tight end Patrick Hape hard enough for Hape to loose the ball into the hands of strong safety Rodney Harrison for an interception.

The result was a 19-0 halftime lead that made what was supposed to be a tough game into a laugher.

"When we get in our rhythm, we are very tough to stop," Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe said.

Broncos players were on their tip-toes all week because Shanahan was grumpy about the embarrassing 34-23 loss to the Ravens on Monday night. The Broncos lost that game because of penalties, stupidity and a lack of composure. Shanahan wanted to make sure that those mistakes wouldn't resurface. They didn't.

	“	When we get in our rhythm, we are very tough to stop. ”
		— Shannon Sharpe, Broncos tight end

"I was really surprised Monday when our team had the breakdown," Shanahan said. "We haven't had a lot of teams taunt us this year, and we lost our composure. We talked about it all week and said, 'Hey, a lot of teams are going to do it.' But we're better than that. I would have been really surprised if we had lost our composure today. I'll really be surprised if it happens again."

Shanahan reached into his bag of tricks to regain offensive compsure. His biggest trick was a mild form of the no-huddle. No, Shanahan wasn't trying to speed up the game against a good Chargers defense. What he wanted was a kick start for his offense, which entered the game ranked No. 15 in the league, and an amazingly low No. 21 in passing.

His strategy was to have Griese get into a huddle on first down and then call a second play for second down. That quick start caught the Chargers offguard, but it put the Broncos into an early comfort zone. On the second play of the game, Griese got wide receiver Ed McCaffrey to run a slant that the Chargers couldn't defend. McCaffrey got behind Moreno, who was filling in for the injured Junior Seau, and then split the safeties, particularly Harrison.

McCaffrey was off and running on a 69-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead 2:03 into the first quarter. To see McCaffrey, who still hasn't regained all of his speed from last year's broken leg, split the Chargers defense and run untouched put even Shanahan in a game mood.

Shanahan joked that McCaffrey is back to 92 percent of his speed. "I think he made some strides," Shanahan said. Griese joked that he was going to start calling McCaffrey "Wheels."

McCaffrey ended up with 113 yards on six catches. Griese finished 26 of 35 for 316 and two touchdowns. Shanahan may have even found a permanent starting running back because Clinton Portis, the team's explosive second-round choice, rushed for 102 yards on 20 carries and caught an 8-yard shovel pass for a touchdown that concluded with one of the worst end zone dances in recent Broncos history.

As bad as his dance, in which Portis boogied in front of an ugly looking mascot, looked, it was more amazing to see how well Portis fit into the offense. Mike Anderson, the starting fullback and the runner the Broncos use in one-back sets, didn't play because of an ankle injury. Portis' explosiveness moved him ahead of Olandis Gary, who was expected to be the starter.

"We want to give him more opportunities but not throw him into the fire too quickly," Shanahan said. "You can see his big play ability. He handled the game plan well, particularly in the one- and two-back sets. He did well with the protection and the motion. He made some strides."

Overall, the Broncos looked like a normal Broncos teams, not the Keystone Kops of Monday night that bumbled and stumbled in Baltimore. They did the little things well.

For example, in the second quarter, rookie safety Sam Brandon recognized that the Chargers had only 10 players on the field for a punt from their 13. There was no wing protector on the right side of the Chargers blocking scheme, so Brandon stepped to the outside and rushed in to block a punt by Darren Bennett for a safety that opened a 16-0 lead.

That's smart Broncos football. Cornerback Deltha O'Neal, who drew a $15,000 fine and was ejected from the Ravens game for touching an official, intercepted two passes, including one for a 28-yard touchdown.

"We took the masks off," linebacker John Mobley said. "We had a mask on Monday night. I don't know who those imposters were."

The smartest thing the Broncos defense did was stay in its gaps and contain Chargers halfback LaDainian Tomlinson, who entered the game with a league-best 506 rushing yards. Tomlinson had 48 yards in 14 carries and, because the Chargers were behind from the Broncos' second offensive play, it was hard to get into a running mode.

"He's a cutback runner and to stop a cutback runner you've got to wait for people to come to you," defensive end Trevor Pryce said. "That's the key. If you are overzealous and are trying to make a play and trying to do too much, that's when he makes a cutback. If he doesn't run to your gap, then you can go get him."

The Broncos held their gaps well. But the biggest plus was the play of Griese, who has been under a microscope all year. Trailing in the Ravens game, Griese didn't look comfortable or capable of bringing his team back from a 31-point deficit.

On Sunday, he was standing a Mile High in the pocket and looking invincible. Nothing got him out of his rhythm. He had fun and so did the rest of his offense. Every call seemed to be right.

"We were moving the ball well in the first half, and guys were making plays and breaking tackles," Griese said. "We emptied the backfield and by design, had plays that creates matchups we liked. There were a number of variations where I had to read the defense and hit certain guys in certain situations."

Griese was in such a groove that he survived three penalties in a 13-play drive that required him to march 107 yards. Back-to-back holding calls gave him a first-and-30. Griese hit Rod Smith for 11, Gary for 12, McCaffrey for five and then converted a fourth down by getting a 9-yard completion top McCaffrey.

Three plays later, he got his shovel pass ahead to Portis, who went into the endzone for an 8-yard touchdown.

"It was like nobody was there," Portis said. "Of course, if the defensive end fills that gap, he knocks your helmet off. We'll put that one away for a while."

And now, Griese may be able to walk his dog without fear of fans booing it. It was a good day for Brian and Bella Griese.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.