The Denver Broncos are on their way to clinching the AFC West division as they lead the San Diego Chargers 9-3 at the break, but quarterback Peyton Manning was forced from the field towards the end of the half.
The Broncos ran the ball in the early stages of the game as CJ Anderson powered his side downfield, before Manning fired a strike to Demaryius Thomas to shift the visitors to the red zone. However, they failed to score a touchdown on three attempts as they settled for a field goal.
Denver extended their lead as Manning fired deep down the right sideline for Julius Thomas to make a 20-yard reception and move them into striking distance again. Once more, the Chargers held firm inside their 10-yard line and limited the visitors to three points from the boot of Connor Barth.
The home side missed the opportunity to get on the scoreboard as two penalties cost them good field position, and that resulted in 50-yard field goal attempt by Nick Novak, which the Broncos managed to block.
The Broncos produced another strong drive towards the end of the half, but they failed to power the ball over from the one-yard line, forcing Barth to kick another field goal from 19 yards.
However, in concerning news for the visitors Manning was forced from the field and replaced by Brock Osweiler for a drive, which ended in a three and out.
San Diego took the resulting punt back to the red zone with a strong run from Eddie Royal, but they failed to score a touchdown as Novak got them on the board with a field goal.
Simon Sinclair
