DENVER (AP) -- Even without their starting quarterback and their best defensive player, the San Diego Chargers were too much for Denver.

Rookie running back Jermaine Fazande ran for 183 yards and a touchdown, and the Chargers beat the Broncos 12-6 Sunday.

	Jermaine Fazande ran for 183 yards on Sunday, carrying the Chargers to a season-ending win.

Quarterback Jim Harbaugh, who helped the Chargers build a 12-0 lead, left early in the third quarter with a strained left hip and didn't return, and linebacker Junior Seau did not suit up because of a strained stomach muscle.

But Fazande, backup quarterback Moses Moreno and a stubborn defense compensated for the losses, enabling San Diego (8-8) to win four of its last five games and finish at .500 or higher for the first time since 1996.

The Broncos (6-10) wound up last in the AFC West, the second time a defending Super Bowl champion fell to last place the following season. The New York Giants finished last in the 1987 strike year after winning the Super Bowl.

San Diego -- which entered the game as the worst rushing team in the NFL, averaging just 70.1 yards per game -- had 194.

"We could have made it more comfortable if we hadn't fumbled the ball once in a while," Chargers coach Mike Riley said, "but the guy running the ball was probably the difference in the game."

"They've probably never heard of me," admitted Fazande, whose performance exceeded his season rushing total (182) coming into the game and whose best previous effort was 50 yards against Chicago in Week 10.

"We just went out there and said we were going to play smash-mouth football," Fazande said. "That's really what it was."

GAME NOTES

Broncos safety Tyrone Braxton was elevated to a starting role and received a loud ovation when introduced before the game. He is retiring after 13 seasons. Jermaine Fazande's 183 yards represented the second-highest rushing effort ever by a Denver opponent at Mile High Stadium, trailing only the 185 by Detroit's Billy Sims in 1981. Olandis Gary's 38 yards gave him 1,159 yards for the season, bettering the Broncos' rookie rushing record of 1,151 set by Bobby Humphrey in 1989. The San Diego defense, which led the league by holding opponents to 3.1 yards per carry, limited Denver to 2.0. Besides Jim Harbaugh (hip), San Diego lost tight end Reggie Davis with a sprained left ankle. John Carney's missed field goal in the fourth quarter ended a string of 19 straight conversions against the Broncos. Denver receivers Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey both topped 1,000 yards for the season with 1,020 and 1,018, respectively. Smith did it for the third straight season, a club record, and McCaffrey for the second in a row. Brian Griese finished with 3,032 yards passing, becoming the eighth quarterback since the merger in 1970 to throw for 3,000 yards in the year of his first start.

The Chargers played smash-mouth on the other end, too. They held the ninth-best offense in the NFL to 235 yards, including just 44 on the ground. Denver's Olandis Gary, who rushed for 183 and 185 yards in the previous two games, managed only 38, but still set a team rookie rushing record.

"We knew they had a good running game," San Diego defensive end Raylee Johnson said. "Our goal was to try to slow them down."

Two second-half field goals by Jason Elam pulled the Broncos to 12-6, but the Chargers held on. John Carney missed a 46-yard field goal try with 9:27 left, but the Broncos went three-and-out. Fazande broke loose on a 24-yard run to the Denver 40 but fumbled when hit by cornerback Tory James.

Brian Griese completed a 14-yard pass to Rod Smith and a 7-yarder to Ed McCaffrey on fourth down as Denver reached the San Diego 20, but McCaffrey caught Griese's fourth-down pass out of the end zone with 2:23 left.

While the Chargers were unable to run out the clock, they knocked away Griese's Hail Mary pass on the final play.

"Give credit to San Diego," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "They dominated the game out front, with rushing defense and rushing offense. You do that and you usually win.

"This was the poorest game offensively that we've played since I have been here."

Fazande, a second-round draft choice from Oklahoma, had 114 yards alone in the first half.

James intercepted Harbaugh twice in the first quarter, including once at the San Diego 48-yard line, but the Broncos were unable to capitalize in a scoreless quarter.

On the second play of the second quarter, fullback Fred McCrary turned a short pass into a 38-yard gain, and Fazande's 1-yard, second-effort run gave the Chargers a 6-0 lead with 11:26 left in the half. Neil Smith blocked Carney's extra point.

On the next play from scrimmage, Gary had an 11-yard run but fumbled when hit by cornerback Fakhir Brown, and defensive end Al Fontenot recovered at the Denver 39. Fazande's 11-yard run helped set up Carney's 25-yard field goal.

On third-and-12 late in the half, Fazande broke free on a 54-yard run to the Denver 7, and Carney kicked a 28-yarder as time expired.

The Chargers generated 240 total yards in the half, compared to Denver's 77. The Broncos didn't advance beyond the San Diego 46 in the half.