The Denver Broncos waived running back Melvin Gordon III on Monday after he tallied his fifth fumble of the season during a 22-16 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

The ex-Charger has been Denver’s leading rusher this year in both yards and carries, but fumbled on the Raiders’ two-yard line moments before halftime on Sunday. The Broncos recovered the fumble, though kicker Brandon McManus’ field goal attempt was blocked on fourth down. Ultimately, the fumble and blocked kick kept the game closer than it should have been entering the break. A touchdown would have given the Broncos a 17-7 lead, and a field goal would have resulted in a three-point advantage.

Denver coach Nathaniel Hackett was critical of Gordon’s poor ball control postgame even after acknowledging the running back has “scored a lot of touchdowns down there for us.”

“In that situation, he has to be smart with it. He can’t fumble,” Hackett told reporters. “He knows that you just can’t do that. That’s unacceptable. We have to find a way to get the ball in the end zone.”  

Gordon was not happy with the blunder, but did not feel it was a defining moment of the loss.

“It’s not like we didn’t recover the ball … it’s unfortunate we didn’t get three points after that,” Gordon said. “… We still had two quarters left, we still had a chance to get points after that, so it wasn’t the end of the world, but unfortunately for me it was something that happened.”

The Broncos are last in the league in scoring at 14.7 points per game, and Gordon had struggled to produce despite getting a larger role after Javonte Williams’ season-ending injury.

The team added Chase Edmonds at the deadline and had signed fellow tailback Latavius Murray off the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad on Oct. 4 in hopes of adding some firepower. However Edmonds suffered a right ankle injury Sunday and left the stadium wearing a walking boot on his lower right leg and ankle. Murray was solid, carrying the ball 17 times for 49 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 23 yards.

Gordon played 41 games for the Broncos over the last three seasons, and scored 22 total touchdowns while also fumbling 12 times.