Melvin Gordon says playing the Broncos felt like an away game

Melvin Gordon is not exactly used to having a home-field advantage in the NFL. He talks about transitioning from the Chargers to the Denver Broncos.

Playing in front of a roaring home crowd in Denver is going to be a treat for newly acquired Broncos running back Melvin Gordon.

Gordon, who has spent his first five years in the NFL with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, is not used to having a true home-field advantage.

As a matter of fact, Denver Broncos fans so heavily infiltrate Chargers territory when the Broncos travel to the West coast that it’s known among Broncos Country as the team’s ninth home game every year.

Gordon, who has been on the powder blue side of things over the last five years, described what it’s like to not really have the fans behind you on your home field in critical division matchups.

"“You definitely have a way bigger fan base (in Denver). Since I’ve been a Charger, there was always—I always felt like it was an away game when we played the Broncos and pretty much any team. Definitely at Qualcomm it was always a sea of orange. We just didn’t have that many fans. My year coming there that’s when they started talking about the move, so we probably lost some fans that way. You can make excuses saying that the fans played at part in our wins and losses at home, but I don’t really think it did. It was really just more so for moral.”Melvin Gordon (via Broncos PR)"

Gordon hasn’t exactly had an easy go of things since he came into the league after an outstanding career with the Wisconsin Badgers in college.

In his rookie season with the Chargers, he didn’t score a single touchdown despite touching the ball over 200 times.

After three really strong seasons from 2016-18, Gordon asked the Chargers for a new contract and they did not give it to him, so he held out — not an unreasonable request for a running back who had missed four games the season prior as the team’s workhorse in the running game.

When the Chargers didn’t grant Gordon’s request, he held out, and ultimately he says that was a regrettable decision.

"“It was tough, but I definitely felt that I ruined some relationships. It’s all part of it. Obviously, you try your best to kind of put that aside and try and go out there and still give it your all. That’s what I tried to do. At times it was definitely difficult. You kind of felt some tension. I kind of felt some tension walking around, but I just tried my best to try and keep a smile on my face and just show up to work every day. Like I said, it was difficult. It was challenging, but I got through. Obviously, I can’t take back what I did. What’s done is done. Now I’m here.”"

Perhaps all things will work out well in the end for Gordon, who ended up getting a mostly guaranteed two-year contract worth $16 million from the Broncos. He joins fellow 2018 Pro Bowl selection Phillip Lindsay, giving the Broncos one of only three backfields in the league with two All-Star running backs.

Now together in Denver, everyone is obviously hoping both players can return to their 2018 form — or better.

Gordon has a chip on his shoulder to prove he is more than just an average running back, and he certainly has plenty of work to do with the stigma against paying big contracts to players at the running back position.