SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 23, 2014
Broncos 35, Chargers 21: Peyton Manning and Emmanuel Sanders hooked up for three touchdowns and Juwan Thompson added two short scoring runs as host Denver rolled past San Diego for its fourth straight win.
Manning, who finished 25-of-35 for 286 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, has thrown at least one TD pass in 46 straight games and at least two in 13 in a row. Sanders had nine receptions for 120 yards while Demaryius Thomas added eight catches for 105 yards and Ronnie Hillman rushed for 109 yards on 20 carries for the Broncos (6-1).
Philip Rivers went 30-of-41 for 252 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions for the Chargers (5-3), who have lost two straight following a five-game winning streak. Tight end Antonio Gates caught two TD passes and finished with five receptions for 54 yards, passing Lance Alworth as the franchise's all-time leader with 9,610 receiving yards.
Both offenses were relatively quiet in the first half, but Manning found Sanders for a 2-yard TD pass to open the scoring and answered Rivers' 2-yard scoring toss to Keenan Allen with a 31-yard bomb to Sanders with 32 seconds left in the half. The Broncos added to their lead on their first two possessions of the second half, with Manning and Sanders hooking up for a 3-yard TD and Thompson punching in a 2-yard score to make it 28-7.
Rivers drove the Chargers 80 yards and hit Gates for a 4-yard touchdown with 2:39 left in the third quarter, but Thompson's 1-yard plunge finished off a 65-yard march to restore the 21-point margin. Rivers' 10-yard scoring pass to Gates kept San Diego's slim hopes alive, but Rahim Moore picked off Rivers' deep pass for Malcom Floyd on the Chargers' next series to thwart any chance of a comeback.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Rivers has thrown a touchdown pass in a franchise-record 28 consecutive games and has multiple TD passes in seven straight, breaking a tie with Dan Fouts for the club mark. … Five of Allen's 11 career touchdown receptions have come against Denver. … San Diego had only 61 rushing yards on 15 attempts, the fourth consecutive game Denver has held the opposition to 62 or fewer yards on the ground.