DENVER (AP)
Ryan Mathews scampered around the corner for a 23-yard scoring
run, Philip Rivers threw two TD passes to Keenan Allen and the San
Diego Chargers led the Denver Broncos 24-10 after three quarters
Thursday night.
Mathews increased the Chargers' lead when he broke outside early
in the third quarter, shed Von Miller's tackle attempt and raced
pretty much untouched the rest of the way.
Before Mathews' run, San Diego did most of its damage through
the air as Rivers hooked up with Allen on a 19-yard pass to tie it
early in the second quarter and again on a 10-yard fade route just
before halftime.
Allen is having quite an inaugural season, with 63 catches for
931 yards. He was 70 yards away from tying the club record for
yards receiving by a rookie set by John Jefferson in 1978.
Rivers efficiently directed the offense and controlled the
clock, which kept Peyton Manning and his explosive offensive on the
sideline for large chunks of time.
San Diego's much-maligned defense did its part, too. After
surrendering 127 yards and 10 points on the opening two drives, the
Chargers stiffened up, surrendering just 26 yards and no
points.
Manning threw his 46th TD pass of the season in the first
quarter, leaving him four shy of tying the single-season record set
by New England's Tom Brady in 2007.
San Diego won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second
half. And yet giving Manning the ball first didn't work out very
well as he efficiently led the team on a seven-play drive that
culminated with Andre Caldwell's 15-yard TD catch in the corner of
the end zone. Manning was 4 of 5 for 56 yards on the drive.
Caldwell was stepping in for Wes Welker, who sat out after
sustaining a concussion Sunday, his second in a month's span.
Manning & Co. had much milder conditions to deal with after
beating Tennessee 51-28 last weekend in the snow and ice. The
temperature hovered around 35 degrees and there was barely any
wind.
Still, Manning wore gloves on both hands.
So did Rivers, who guided the Chargers down the field on their
first drive, only to have it stall out at the 20. Nick Novak
connected on a 38-yard field goal.
The Broncos were without two defensive starters in cornerback
Champ Bailey (left foot) and defensive lineman Derek Wolfe
(illness).
This game featured two of the NFL's most prolific offenses,
along with two of the most deficient defenses.
This news comes from msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Broncos-are-a-classic-pickyourpoison-trap-42264252