Peyton Manning threw for 330 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Denver Broncos defeated the San Diego Chargers 28-20. Manning connected with Demaryius Thomas for 3 of the touchdowns. The Broncos improved to 8-1 on the season while interim head coach Jack Del Rio led the team as John Fox recovered from heart surgery at home. Manning played through an ankle injury late in the game and said he planned to have an MRI on Monday.

1. Manning throws 4 TD passes in Broncos' 28-20 win
Manning throws 4 TD passes in Broncos' 28-20 win - Yahoo News
SAN DIEGO (AP) " John Fox sent text messages to several Denver Broncos on Sunday morning,
wishing them good luck against the San Diego Chargers.
The Broncos will reciprocate by giving a game ball to their coach, who's at his offseason home in
Charlotte, N.C., recovering from heart surgery.
With interim coach Jack Del Rio in charge, Peyton Manning threw for 330 yards and four
touchdowns, three to Demaryius Thomas, as he efficiently led the Broncos to a 28-20 victory in their
first game since Fox had his aortic valve replaced last Monday. Fox was released Friday and will
continue his recovery at his offseason home.
"We look forward to giving it to him in person," Manning said.
Manning said he spoke with Fox by phone on Saturday before the Broncos flew to San Diego.
"I told him not to be yelling at me during the game. It's not good for his blood pressure," Manning
said. "I'm not sure we'll see if he did or didn't. But he was in our thoughts. Coach Del Rio has done a
good job all week keeping us updated on coach Fox."
Fox planned to watch the game on TV there, a team spokesman said. If he watched, he probably
didn't like seeing Manning hurting his right ankle when he was hit by Corey Liuget as the Broncos
ran out the clock in the closing minutes. Manning stayed in the game.
Manning wouldn't be specific about his injury, but said he was "pretty sore" and that he planned to
have an MRI on Monday.
View gallery."
San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip
Rivers prepares to deliver a straight arm as he scrambles away ...
Manning was hurt after completing a pass to Thomas with 1:44 left.
"We were playing aggressively to win the game right there," Del Rio said. "He made a throw, D.T.
made a catch and that was the ballgame. He got up and didn't want to come off " very proud guy "
and closed out the game for us."
Asked about playing in the Broncos' showdown with AFC West leader Kansas City (9-0) next Sunday
night, Manning said: "I totally plan on it."

2. Manning kept the Broncos (8-1) rolling. He threw touchdown passes of 11, 7 and 34 yards to Thomas
on consecutive drives spanning the second and third quarters, staking the Broncos to a 28-6 lead.
Julius Thomas had a 74-yard catch-and-run on Denver's first drive, turning a short pass into the
second-longest play by a tight end in team history.
Liuget said it wasn't an intentional hit. "I was trying to get to him because I knew how critical it
could be to us as a defense to get to him. I was just working it and trying to be the guy. I'm not sure
how I caught him but I hope he is OK. It's not anything that is going to stop him from being Peyton
Manning."
The Broncos' scoring drives lasted 57 seconds; 2 minutes, 27 seconds, 1:25, and 3:26.
View gallery."
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton
Manning fumbles as he is hit by San Diego Chargers outside linebac ...
"You knew it wasn't going to be many possessions and we had to be efficient when we had the ball,"
Manning said.
Manning has thrown for 3,249 yards and 33 touchdowns in nine games. He completed 25 of 36
passes against the Chargers.
The Chargers (4-5) closed the gap late in the second half but couldn't catch up.
The Chargers were inside the Denver 23 three times in their first four possessions and had to settle
for field goals of 26 and 40 yards by Nick Novak. Novak was wide left on a 37-yard attempt with 1:38
left before halftime.
"Three opportunities, you get six points and they score 28," said Chargers rookie coach Mike McCoy,
who was Denver's offensive coordinator the past four seasons. "As you go along that is critical. When
you play Peyton you have to get touchdowns. We've just got to do a better job."
Manning's big afternoon was marred only when rookie linebacker Tourek Williams hit Manning from
behind and knocked the ball loose, with Donald Butler recovering at the Denver 11 midway through
the third quarter. Two plays later, Philip Rivers found Danny Woodhead for a 7-yard scoring pass.
The Chargers pulled to 28-20 on Ryan Mathews' 1-yard touchdown run on third down with 10:42 to
play.
A week earlier, the Chargers had the ball first-and-goal from the Washington 1 before Woodhead
was stuffed and Rivers threw two incompletions before settling for a field goal to force overtime. The
Redskins won 30-24.

3. Novak's miss late in the second quarter gave Manning enough time to move the Broncos 73 yards in
nine plays, all passes, capped by his 7-yard scoring throw to Demaryius Thomas for a 21-6 lead
before halftime. Manning threw only one incompletion that drive.
The Broncos got the opening kickoff of the second half and went 78 yards in eight plays, with
Thomas' 34-yard TD catch giving the Broncos a 28-6 lead.
"So it's a 14-point swing " the difference in the ballgame," Manning said.
The Chargers finished the game without left tackle King Dunlap, who sustained his third concussion
this season, and center Nick Hardwick, who had a stinger. Rookie right tackle D.J. Fluker moved to
left tackle.
Rivers completed 19 of 29 passes for 218 yards.
NOTES: The Broncos have scored 371 points, the most through the first nine games of a season in
NFL history. The previous high of 358 was by the 1950 Los Angeles Rams. ...Broncos LB Nate Irving
injured a shoulder. ... The Chargers said LT King Dunlap had a concussion, his third this season.
Other Chargers injured were C Nick Hardwick (stinger), LB Larry English (bicep) and fullback
Le'Ron McClain (ankle). ... It was the 300th win under Broncos owner and CEO Pat Bowlen.
___
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org
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