Chargers Stun Broncos 27-20
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Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images(DENVER) — Dominating time of possession — that’s one way to defeat Peyton Manning.
Philip Rivers threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns as the San Diego Chargers stunned the Denver Broncos 27-20 on Thursday night.
The Chargers (7-7) held the football for 38:49, keeping the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback off the field. Manning threw for 289 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the loss.
“We didn’t play well, didn’t stay on the field, didn’t have the ball much, and, when we did, we didn’t do much with it,” Manning said.
Denver (11-3) took a 10-3 lead in the first quarter on a Matt Prater field goal. The Chargers rattled off two touchdown drives before halftime to seize control of the game.
“We didn’t mention one word about time of possession this week,” Rivers said. “We said, ‘We’ve got to score.’ Time of possession is only important if you’re scoring.”
Ryan Mathews rushed for 127 yards and one touchdown, helping the Chargers snap Denver’s 10-game AFC West winning streak.
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