On Thursday Night Football, the San Diego Chargers kept their playoff hopes alive by beating the Denver Broncos 27-20 in Denver. This was the first home loss of the season for the Broncos, who are now in danger of losing the top seed in the American Football Conference (AFC) playoffs.
The Chargers held the Broncos to their lowest point total of the season, and also their lowest amount of total yards, at 295. San Diego, which is now 7-7, are still a half-game behind the Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins for the last wild card spot in the AFC playoffs. Chargers’ quarterback Phillip Rivers threw for only 166 yards in the game on 12 of 20 passing, but their offense controlled the game with 38 minutes and 49 seconds of possession time, and 177 yards rushing, compared to only 18 yards rushing for the Broncos. Ryan Matthews led the Chargers with 127 yards on 29 carries, and had a 23-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter.
The highlight of the San Diego passing game had to be their first touchdown. Wide receiver Keenan Allen caught a short pass from Rivers and hurdled a defender, then bashed into another Bronco at the goal line to force his way in to tie the game at 10. Allen only had 2 receptions in the game for 29 yards, but both catches finished with the Chargers celebrating a touchdown.
The Broncos scored on their first 2 possessions to take a 10-3 lead in the first quarter. But the Chargers scored the next 21 points in dominating the 2nd and 3rd quarters of play. So the 4th quarter started with the Chargers leading 24-10. Denver responded with a 12-play 89-yard drive, that cut the lead to 24-17. It was beginning to look like another comeback by Bronco quarterback Peyton Manning. But their next possession ended with an interception by Thomas Keiser. The Chargers added a late field goal to take a 10-point lead. With only 2:31 remaining, the Broncos could just manage a field goal of their own to end the scoring at 27-20.
Manning was a rather pedestrian 27 of 41 passing for 289 yards, with 2 touchdowns and that fatal interception in the 4th quarter. With the loss, the Broncos still have a half-game lead over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, and have the tie-breaker, because they beat the Chiefs twice. But the New England Patriots, that beat the Broncos a few weeks ago, with that dramatic comeback, now can earn the top seed, by winning their remaining 3 games.
The Patriots can return the favor the Chargers did for them, by beating both the teams San Diego is chasing to earn a playoff spot. New England plays at Miami, then at Baltimore, before finishing up with a home game against the Buffalo Bills. This won’t be easy for the Patriots, especially since last week they lost tight end extraordinaire Rob Gronkowski for the rest of the season, after they played several games without him to start the season. The offense had really picked up steam with his return, but now will have to do without him again.
San Diego has home games against the Oakland Raiders and the Chiefs to finish their season. The Chargers should beat their division rival Raiders, but the Chiefs will be looking to avenge the loss the Chargers handed them at home a few weeks ago. So like usual, the playoff positioning in the AFC will go down to the last weekend of the season, before we even know who will be in the playoffs.
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