Peyton Manning continued to put Brett Favre in his rearview Thursday night, tossing three touchdowns as the Denver Broncos pulled away from the San Diego Chargers for a 35-21 win and a firm handle on the AFC West lead. Emmanuel Sanders caught all three of Manning's scores and fullback Juwan Thompson rushed for two (much to the chagrin of Ronnie Hillman fantasy owners), and the Denver offense went over 30 points for a fourth consecutive game.
Chargers vs. Broncos 2014 final score: 3 things we learned from Denver’s 35-21 win
Unable to keep the ball out of Peyton Manning’s hands, the Chargers were burned by a midgame scoring explosion and never recovered.
Doug Pensinger
It was the Broncos' defense, however, that put the nail in the coffin. With the Chargers having scored consecutive second-half touchdowns to cut the deficit to 14, Rahim Moore picked off Philip Rivers inside the 5-yard line with just under five minutes remaining. It was Rivers' second pick of the night and ended any hopes of a dramatic comeback.
Here’s what we learned from the game:
1) The Chargers need a running game to beat Denver.
When San Diego pulled off a Week 15 upset of the Broncos last season, it did so by keeping the ball away from Manning with a dominant ground attack. The Chargers piled up 177 yards rushing, 11 rushing first downs and possessed the ball for nearly 39 minutes.
Fast forward to Thursday night, when a Chargers offense missing its top three running backs managed just 61 rushing yards, three rushing first downs and 29 minutes of possession. The diminutive Branden Oliver has been a revelation over the last month, but couldn't find any room to work against a quick, physical Denver front that routinely shut down running lanes and made its way into the backfield.
Given ample opportunities with the ball, Manning burned San Diego for 286 yards and the three scores. The Chargers will need to find a consistent running attack between now and mid-December if they hope to get a better result when the Broncos roll into Qualcomm.
2) The game turned on a questionable replay review.
The Chargers had just tied up the game at 7 with three minutes remaining in the first half when Denver return man Andre Caldwell coughed the ball up. It was ruled a fumble and a San Diego recovery, setting the Bolts up with a short field and an opportunity to take the lead.
But after a video review, refs made the controversial decision to overturn the call. The replay seems to show the ball coming loose just before Caldwell’s elbow touched down.
Eight plays later, Manning found Sanders for a 31-yard touchdown and the Broncos were off and running. They scored three consecutive touchdowns to blow the game open by the midway mark of the third quarter and the Chargers never recovered.
3) Denver is in the AFC West driver’s seat.
With the Chiefs sitting at 3-3 and the Raiders winless, the division is looking like a two-team race. The Chargers had the opportunity to climb into first place Thursday, but now at 5-3, find themselves two games behind Denver in the loss column. The Chargers get another shot at the Broncos at home in Week 15, but five of the Broncos' other final eight games are against teams currently at .500 or below, so catching them will be no easy task.
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