Following the Chargers’ touchdown, running back Ronnie Hillman got the Broncos offense moving with a 19-yard rush out to the Denver 40-yard line.

A short run by Lance Ball followed, bringing an end to the third quarter.

To begin the fourth, quarterback Peyton Manning hit tight end Jacob Tamme for 6 yards and then Ball took it across midfield with a 14-yard rush and a first down.

Next, Manning hit his other tight end, Joel Dreessen, who shrugged off a tackle near the sideline, stayed in bounds and gained an addition 5 yards after contact to move the chains.

The next series brought up a third-and-13. Needing to reach the 11-yard line, Manning stepped up in the pocket and fired a pass to Brandon Stokley, who made the catch and was immediately tackled 1 yard shy of the sticks.

Kicker Matt Prater came on and converted a 30-yard field goal to increase the lead to two possessions, at 27-16.

The Broncos answered the Chargers’ long drive by taking off 5:15 of game clock on 10 plays while covering 67 yards.

After the Broncos forced a Philip Rivers fumble that led to a touchdown, the Chargers responded with a score of their own.

Rivers completed passes to five different receivers on the drive, including two first-down connections with both Malcom Floyd and Danario Alexander.

He finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Alexander to bring the lead back to one possession at 24-16.

The drive covered 80 yards on 12 plays and took 6:25 of clock, giving the Broncos the ball with 0:58 remaining in the third quarter.

With 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter, San Diego began its drive at their own 24-yard line.

Running back Ryan Mathews ran the ball four straight times, moving the chains once and setting up a third-and-4 from near midfield.

As Philip Rivers dropped back to pass for the first time of the possession, linebacker Von Miller came speeding off edge, sacking Rivers and forcing a fumble. It was Miller’s third sack of the game, tying a career high that he set two weeks ago at Cincinnati, and his 13th of the season, which leads the NFL.

Fellow linebacker Wesley Woodyard recovered the fumble and returned it 12 yards to the San Diego 25-yard line.

Two plays after the turnover, the Broncos faced a third-and-5 on their own 20-yard line. Manning dropped back to pass and didn’t see a receiver initially. Running back Lance Ball provided additional time with a blitz pickup as Manning dodged additional defenders, looking for somewhere to throw.

After stepping up into the pocket, Manning hit wideout Eric Decker on a short pass in the middle of the field, and Decker did the rest of the work, diving over the goal line for a 20-yard touchdown.

The reception was the 100th of Decker’s career, and it also set a single-season career high in receiving yards, surpassing his 612-yard total from 2011. Additionally, Decker is now the third player in team history with at least eight touchdown catches in back-to-back seasons.

The touchdown gave the Broncos a 24-9 lead with 7:23 left in the third quarter.

The Chargers recovered an onside kick attempt to begin the second half, gaining possession at the Broncos 49-yard line.

Needing a strong series to keep San Diego from getting points, the Denver defense forced its seventh three-and-out of the game.

Linebacker D.J. Williams brought down running back Ryan Mathews in the backfield for a 2-yard loss and linebacker Von Miller sacked Philip Rivers, his second of the game, forcing a fumble that San Diego recovered.

San Diego punter Mike Scifres then pinned the Broncos offense at its own 2-yard line. After running back Ronnie Hillman ran for no gain on first down, the Chargers defense brought heat, and linebacker Sean Phillips sacked Peyton Manning in the end zone for a safety.

The safety made the score 17-9, and the Chargers then regained possession on the ensuing punt at their own 36-yard line, where the Broncos defense turned in another three-and-out.

The Broncos entered halftime with a 17-7 lead over the San Diego Chargers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Quarterback Peyton Manning threw two touchdowns — one to Demaryius Thomas and one to Brandon Stokley — and the Denver defense enjoyed a stellar first-half performance. It allowed San Diego to gain just 54 total yards to the Broncos’ 216 and held the Chargers rushing attack to 8 yards on an average of 0.7 yards per carry.

Overall, San Diego gained just 1.9 yards per play.

The Denver defense forced Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense to go 0-for-8 on third downs, marking 23 straight third-down stops dating back to Week 9 at Cincinnati.

With 4:52 remaining in the first half, San Diego gained possession at its own 30-yard line following a Denver punt.

The Chargers moved the chains once with a defensive holding penalty, but the Denver defense came up with another third-down stop – their 22nd straight, dating back to Week 9 – on a 14-yard sack by linebacker Von Miller.

The sack brought up a fourth-and-18 for San Diego and made Miller the fourth player since 1982 to record at least 11 sacks in each of his first two seasons.

Miller’s sack led to a greater momentum swing in Denver’s favor, as linebacker Nate Irving blocked the San Diego punt attempt and the Broncos took over at the Chargers 31-yard line.

On the very first play of the possession, Manning pump-faked once and then connected with a wide open Brandon Stokley in the back right corner of the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown.

The score, Stokley’s fifth of the year, gave the Broncos a 17-7 advantage with 1:44 left in the first half.

On the first play of the Chargers possession that followed Demaryius Thomas’ touchdown, linebacker Wesley Woodyard jumped in front of a Philip Rivers pass and made his team-leading third interception of the season.

Woodyard caught the pick at the Chargers’ 35-yard line and returned it to the 8-yard line. He and cornerback Chris Harris are two of the three players in the league with multiple interceptions and multiple sacks through Week 10.

Quarterback Peyton Manning hit running back Lance Ball for a 6-yard gain down to the 1-yard line on third down, so the Broncos had to settle for a 19-yard Matt Prater field goal.

The kick gave the Broncos a 3-point lead at 10-7 with 11:37 remaining in the half.

Safety Rahim Moore made a second-down run stop and cornerback Chris Harris deflected a third-down pass attempt to force the Chargers’ third straight three-and-out.

San Diego punter Mike Scifres sent it 40 yards and Denver took over at their own 44-yard line, trailing 7-0.

Running back Willis McGahee gained the first 20 yards of the possession with a pair of rushes for 15 and 5 yards.

Wide receiver Matthew Willis then gained 10 yards on a screen pass followed by an 8-yard carry from McGahee that picked up a first down and brought Denver to down to the 13-yard line. McGahee and Chargers cornerback Quentin Jammer – the tackler — were helped off the field by trainers after the play.

On the next play, quarterback Peyton Manning threw it to wideout Demaryius Thomas in the back left corner of the end zone. Thomas caught the pass but was initially ruled out of bounds. The Broncos challenged the ruling and it was overturned, as officials determined that Thomas touched both feet in bounds with possession.

Matt Prater converted the extra point attempt and the Broncos tied the game at 7-7 with 12:57 remaining in the first half.

The touchdown pass gave Manning sole possession of second place in NFL history with 421 career touchdown passes. He passed Dan Marino and now trails only Brett Favre.

The touchdown catch was Thomas’ fifth of the year.

The drive covered 56 yards on six plays and took 2:17 off the clock.

Click here for the audio highlight of the touchdown.

Cornerback Omar Bolden suffered a concussion in the first quarter and will not return today.

Running back Willis McGahee was helped off the field in the second quarter with a knee injury. His return is questionable. He left with 72 all-purpose yards on seven carries and one reception.

UPDATE: McGahee has been ruled OUT.

Chargers linebacker Larry English suffered a leg injury in the second quarter and will not return.

Chargers cornerback Quentin Jammer injured his calf in the second quarter and is questionable to return.

Defensive end Derek Wolfe suffered a thigh injury in the third quarter. His return is questionable.

Check back to this blog for updates on any further injuries.

The Broncos started their second drive of the game on their own 12-yard line after a 66-yard San Diego punt.

Quarterback Peyton Manning started the drive with two consecutive completions to his tight ends, first to Jacob Tamme for 8 and then to Joel Dreessen for 5.

On the next play, Manning tried to hit wide receiver Matthew Willis on a short pass to his left, but linebacker Demorrio Williams deflected it up into the air. Safety Eric Weddle caught the deflection and returned it 23 yards for the touchdown.

The extra point made it 7-0, as the Broncos regain possession with seven minutes remaining in the first quarter.