Third-and-9 from the San Diego 35: After San Diego started their first possession with a first down on the second play from scrimmage, the Broncos ended the drive before it could gain momentum when linebacker Wesley Woodyard hit Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers as he released a third-down pass, forcing it to fall harmlessly incomplete.
Third-and-1 from the Denver 46: San Diego had good field position after a missed Matt Prater 55-yard field goal attempt. That didn’t matter for the Broncos defense as it forced a three-and-out capped by Woodyard’s 1-yard tackle for a loss on third-and-one.
Third-and-5 from the San Diego 36: With the Denver offense still looking for its first points, quarterback Peyton Manning found an open Matthew Willis and the receiver turned upfield for a 10-yard gain that extended the drive. Two plays later Manning hit wide receiver Demaryius Thomas for a 13-yard touchdown to tie the score 7-7.
First-and-10 from the San Diego 20: On the first play of the ensuing Chargers drive, Woodyard stepped in front of a Rivers pass for his third interception of the season. The linebacker returned the pick 25 yards to the San Diego 8-yard line to set up a Matt Prater field goal.
Third-and-12 from the San Diego 49: After San Diego started the second half with an onside kick recovery, the Denver defense stood its ground and forced a three-and-out. On third down, Von Miller broke into the backfield and dropped Rivers for a 6-yard loss and forced a fumble that the Chargers recovered.
Third-and-4 from the San Diego 46: Miller struck again on third down, sacking Rivers and forcing a fumble for a second time in the third quarter. Woodyard recovered and returned it to the San Diego 25. Three plays later, the Broncos found the end zone on Manning’s 20-yard pass to wide receiver Eric Decker to put the team ahead 24-9.
Kickoff from the San Diego 35: The second Chargers onside kick attempt of the half wasn’t a surprise and wasn’t successful as tight end Virgil Green fell on the loose ball to give Denver a chance to run out the clock. Denver was held to a three-and-out, turning the ball back to San Diego with 30 seconds to play.
2nd-and-6 from the San Diego 17: Just like the Chargers’ last snap of the team’s previous matchup in Week 6, Elvis Dumervil ended the game by strip-sacking Rivers. The sack came with 17 seconds left on the clock and despite Rivers’ recovery of the fumble, time ran out to give Denver the win.
Tags: Key Plays, San Diego Chargers, Week 11
I could blab about how awesome the game was. About how the offense wasn’t even the highlight in a great team win. But I will let Rivers do the talking.
“They’re not losing four of six, I can guarantee you that,” Rivers said of the Broncos.
“This is the best defensive team they’ve had since I’ve been playing them,” said the nine-year veteran.
Yeah we have PFM manning, but how bout them st/def? Scary
Go Broncos!!
Repost. they opened up a new blog just as i post a long one….
man o man what a game. thats the reaction anytime we beat the chargers and phyllis walks off the field, essentially ‘giving up’ with 10 seconds left in the game. I could watch that moment over and over again that was CLASSIC. he was like ‘screw it, heres the ball ref, i’m done’. HAHAHAHA. anyway its gotta be pretty good around here when we say the o looks bland and complain about how the o played when we put up 30 points! I, too complained a little about the o and then read a comment earlier about that and it woke me up a little. some bronco fans already spoiled? i think so! but its awesome!! the defense is playing dominant, and dj is only gonna make it that much better (how good was he carmelloo!) and thats gonna take us a long way ‘despite’ that ‘bland’ o putting up ‘only’ 30 points a game. the chargers do suck but theyre not terrible and it was an always tough division game against a mad division foe we embarrassed earlier in the season and we won handily, even with multiple mistakes. we are an elite team i say, tho just barely breaking in that arena. still some maddening things going on that should not happen. and, yes, i too think the o still could be so much better. if mcgahee is out for an extended time that could be trouble but with manning back there the opponents d can know he’s gonna throw most of the game and he still put up 300 yds and 3 td’s. thats what you get with peyton manning. MVP for sure and i think that yes, manning can be the offensive mvp and miller can be the defensive mvp. how cool would that be? manning will def get the comeback player of the year award too. but i am mainly just excited as can be about this team and the potential it shows. looks like PLAN A was the way to go huh cat??!!??
DJ had a great game. Miller is looking more and more like a hof player in the making. Woodyard is fantastic. We might have the best lb corps in the league.
wow alex thats pretty cool stuff! rivers was just destroyed today by our d. he was about to lose it after that sack the o line didnt shift the protection over for him. was a great, great defensive day. i sure hope del rio sticks around after this season. cant tell hardly these days…
btw let me be clear i was very much in the ‘bland’ o boat during the game. not taking shots at anyone about that if thats how that came across. i was woken up by someones comment earlier about the offenses 30 points despite being complained about.
If McG is out for a game maybe Moreno will get a fair shot to contribute. That is not a trade I would make cause McG is a beast. But I would like to see what Moreno could do in this Off.
Alex, I agree completely with the notion that adding DJ to W2 and SuperVon would give Denver a top 3 LB corp in the league! These guys are scary good
I think Del Rio needs a couple of good years to get a head coaching gig again. Would be smart of him to stay, to keep establishing something special with the Broncos. That should get him back to where he wants to be.i
I hate how “cawky” the charger’s players are…Im glad we shut them up twice this year.
I think my favorite thing about this game – and it is kind of weird – is that it was actually a pretty sloppy game for the broncos O in a lot of ways. And we still rolled em. The final score was much closer than the game was.
I think that just speaks to how good this team really is. Put 60 minutes of clean football together and I doubt there is a team in the league that could beat us right now.
Did anyone get a chance to watch any other games today? I had the NE game on also and that team looked like it is was on a mission…
I can’t wait for Brady v Manning rematch!!! That game will be SOOOO much fun! hopefully they stub their toe and it can happen in D-Town
Okay, I know we have a much better chance of matching up with the top tier AFC teams right now, but we still have to go out and prove it. I’m still giving NE, Baltimore, Texans their props….but it’s alot closer now than last year thats for sure.
My favorite part of todays game was DMT’s reaction after they called him out of bounds on his TD catch… he just pointed up and was like ‘I know I got this…’
Decker seems to be in a rut…needs to get out of it soon.
LOL, Im watching the game on DVR…and just saw Decker score…so Im laughing at my last comment.
Here’s a stat line I wouldn’t have guessed… got it off the ESPN rapid reaction section to the game today
“Rivers’ turnovers continue: San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. He has committed 43 turnovers since the start of the 2011 season. It leads the NFL.”
Baltimore looked weak tonight. McGahee says that he thinks he is going to be fine and that he doesn’t think it’s serious at all.
Where did you hear about this Cat?
Know what I liked the most? That we could score some touchdowns off the turnovers the d created. I’m not going to lie… It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to do that. At least in recent memory.
And Forget Noshow! Bring in JJ from the Practice Squad, JJ is much better!!
Strand, they were tweeting about it earlier. But his knee is swollen. Said he will have to get an MRI.
Patience with the offense guys. They’re still figuring it out and Peyton had an off day today, over throws, etc. we have GOT to be Demaryius in the game.
*GOT to get
Thank you!! COOL BEANS!!
Gronk TE from the Pats broke his forearm and is out 4-6 weeks.
Bad KARMA for always looking to run up the score….
We have got to get better on third down though. It’s killing me. I finally figured out that I am expecting us to score 30 points a game so when it takes us forever to do it or get there I get impatient. I am going to be preaching patience for the next three weeks PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE.
OH! And I need Kuper back.
Stp running up the score and that stuff won’t happen, Patriots!
Is MaGahees injury to the same knee he hurt in college?
San Diego has a good Defense… I didn’t have any issue with the offense today except that the OL kept letting the D get to Peyton… I’m sure alot of the conservative play calling comes from having Ramirez still and then McG getting hurt didn’t help
We need Kuper,Ramirez is a bum!
He broke it on the last extra point of the game. Very foolish on Belichecks part to keep Gronk in when the score is out of reach. Very dumb. HaHa!!
Good thing the Pats carry 5 TE’s on their roster… who does that? but it seems Belichik just has a knack for being prepared (even if he has to cheat…)
So we have an early game next weekend against K.C. They can’t score TD’s and suck badly.
Yeah and Hillman and Ball started to figure out the offense better towards the end of he game, but we missed McGahee BIG time when he went down. Peyton needs his run game.
Im out guys..Have a great week…Great Win, good day to you all broncos fans.
But we aren’t looking past them, just like Peyton says. Records mean nothing!
Bring in JJ at RB!!!!!
Night bomber
Strand, it’ll take JJ even longer to figure out the offense. If McGahee can’t go, I’m sure Moreno will be active. I was actually quite bummed he wasn’t when we needed him.
Later on 66!
Later Bomber!
Strand I gotta go too… Bright and early for the kiddos tomorrow. They’ll be so excited. I bring them cookies every time the Broncos win. I think I’m converting some of them to Bronco fans little by little. I have more power than you can imagine! LOL night buddy! TAP YOUR CLEATS THREE TIMES! 5 in a row!
I think JJ is more explosive, direct, and makes better decisions in hitting the holes he finds. IMO
Moreno is a first round Talent that is on his third HC and third Offensive system… he has had countless hours of recovery time when others have been learning the new systems and staff… GIVE HIM A CHANCE!!! He has the skills to be very productive in this system where he can get out in open space… I personally can’t wait to see him back on the field in Orange and Blue!!!
Good night Cat. Life is good!!
Neat to bring them cookies and win them over. LOL
No dancers!! Noshow stinks!!
I respectfully Disagree Strand!!! Too many Bayflakes for you my friend.. Moreno is a baller and hopefully we get the most out of hime the rest of the season