Peyton Manning Injured But Denver Broncos Cop Division Title With 22-10 Win Over San Diego Chargers

For a brief moment, Denver Broncos’ fans were worried about their star quarterback. The veteran was injured in the early stages of the game against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday Night Football but he came back and the Broncos copped 22-10 victory on the road. The win meant Denver owns the AFC West again while San Diego may need to win out their final two games for a shot at a wild card spot in the AFC.

Manning suffered a thigh injury in the second quarter but returned to target Demaryius Thomas for a touchdown pass in the third quarter to give Denver the huge 16-3 lead entering the fourth and final period. The Broncos held on to the win for their fourth straight AFC West championship. That was Manning’s lone TD for the game and he finished with 233 passing yards on 14-of-20 completions while Thomas had 123 yards on just 6 receptions.

For San Diego, Philip Rivers completed 24-of-41 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown but he had two key interceptions. Antonio Gates ended up with 54 yards (6 receptions) with 1 TD and Branden Oliver had 70 total yards.

Denver now aims for the AFC’s top spot tying the New England Patriots atop the conference. The Patriots have the Bills (8-6) and New York Jets (3-11) in their last two games while the Broncos take on the Cincinnati Bengals (9-12) and Oakland Raiders (2-12) in their final two.

San Diego finishes the season against the San Francisco 49ers (7-7) and the Kansas City Chiefs (8-6). They need to win out the last two and hope that other teams in the race for the AFC wildcard loses a game or two for a shot at the postseason. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are both at 9-7, a game ahead of the chargers while the Chiefs and Buffalo Bills share the same record as the Chargers.