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 The Broncos (11-3) have already clinched a place in the postseason
but have now given Kansas City (10-3) a chance to snatch the
division title from their grasp.
The Chargers (7-7) trail Baltimore (7-6) and Miami (7-6) in the
chase for the last wildcard spot.
"This win says a lot about the coaches and the players, how hard
they've worked to get to this point," Chargers rookie head coach and
former Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said.
"We knew we had a tough game coming here but everyone stepped up, we
ran the football extremely well and it was a great team effort.
"The defense did a great job overall, I'm very proud of them."
After falling behind early the Chargers scored 21 unanswered points,
including two touchdown receptions from rookie wide receiver Keenan
Allen in the second quarter, then squashed Manning's attempted
comeback with a clutch interception late in the game.
With Denver down 24-17 and more than five minutes left, Thomas
Keiser pulled in the crucial pick for the Chargers after Corey
Liuget pressured Manning and knocked his arm during the throw.
It allowed Nick Novak to kick a 35-yarder and pad the lead to 10
points. Denver scored a late field goal but had no time to push to
tie the game.
Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers was 12 of 20 for 166 yards and
two touchdowns, while Manning finished 27 from 41 night for 289
yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
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Ryan Mathews rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown for San
Diego.
The Broncos opened in clinical fashion, using only seven plays
and just over three minutes on the opening drive before Manning
connected with Andre Caldwell from 15 yards for a touchdown.
The Chargers could only respond with a 38-yard field goal from
Novak but those three points were negated soon after when Matt
Prater kicked one through from 32 yards to leave it 10-3 to
Denver after a quarter.
But the second quarter was all San Diego with Rivers sending
rookie Allen in for two touchdowns, the first featuring a great
hurdle into the endzone and the second a clever catch while
falling.
The 17-10 halftime lead was extended to 24-10 soon after the
main break when Matthews rushed over from 23 yards on the
opening drive.
Manning tried to bring his team back and found Caldwell for his
second score early in the final quarter but the interception
proved costly and San Diego took the win.
(Reporting by Ben Everill; editing by Peter Rutherford)
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