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| Jed Jacobsohn/SI |
The Denver Broncos will be advancing to the AFC Championship after a thrilling win over AFC West rival San Diego Chargers.
The Denver Broncos were able to withstand a late push by the Chargers to move on to the AFC Championship game where they will be hosting the New England Patriots.
With the historic offense the Broncos have and the much improved play by Phillip Rivers all season you would expect the score to start jumping quick, but that was not the case with these divisional rivals. The Broncos game plan seemed to be more focused on keeping Rivers and his crew off the field, and it came with an even attack of both the run and pass.
The Broncos first drive of the game took up over 7 minutes of the first quarter and was finished with a 2-yard TD pass to Demaryius Thomas. When the Chargers were able to get their offense on the field they couldn't get anything rolling thanks to great play by Denver in the secondary including Rodgers-Cromartie who deflected 3 different passes by Rivers.
The Broncos opened up the second quarter with a lost fumble by Julius Thomas that was recovered by San Diego. The Chargers tried to take advantage of the opportunity, but would miss on a long 53-yard field goal attempt. Manning then went on to finish off a 57-yard drive that took up over 5 minutes of the quarter with a 3-yard TD pass to Wes Welker. The half would end on a good note for the Chargers, intercepting Manning in their own endzone to stop the Broncos from expanding their lead and instead went into halftime trailing 14-0.
The Broncos would continue to control the clock in the third, where they held the ball for over 10 1/2 minutes. The Broncos were able to get a field goal on the first of their two drives of the quarter, when Matt Prater hit a 45-yard field goal to bump the lead to 17-0. Prater would miss a 47-yard field goal attempt on their second drive of third quarter and both teams would go scoreless the rest of the quarter
The 4th quarter is when the guns were blazing for the Chargers. The Chargers opened up the 4th with a 16-yard TD pass to rookie Keenan Allen. Allen finished the game with 142 yards on only 6 receptions and two TD's in just his second playoff game of his young career.
Denver answered back to the Chargers first TD of the game with one of their own, this time Knowshon Moreno would run in a 3-yard TD on a drive that once again ate up the clock, taking up almost 5 minutes of the 4th.
It was time for San Diego to take it to overdrive in order to keep their playoff run going, and they would after capping off an 80-yard drive with another 16-yard TD pass to Allen.
There was only 5:43 left in the 4th when the Chargers decided to attempt an onside kick, which they would recover and set up a quick 30-yard field goal by Nick Novak to make it a one possession game, 17-24.
The Chargers did not choose to try a second onside kick, and instead gave the ball back to Manning and company with 3:53 left to play in regulation.
Just as he did all day long, Manning again worked the time off possession. The Chargers last ray of hope came to an end after Moreno would convert a fairly easy 3rd and 1 to ice the game and send the Denver Broncos to the AFC Championship game.
Denver's biggest factor for their win is the time of possession, and they controlled over 10 more minutes than the Chargers. That would cause the major difference in number of plays with San Diego running just 49 plays while Denver ran offensive 70 plays!
The Chargers have held Denver and their prolific offense to under 30 points in all three meetings this season and have decreased Mannings yards per game in each as well but that was not enough this time around.
The San Diego Chargers will head into the offseason feeling good after they were able to make it this deep into the playoffs after starting out 5-7. First year coach Mike McCoy turned a team that missed the last 3 years in the post-season into a team playoff contender and was able to help turn Phillip Rivers back in to the elite quarterback he once was.
This was Peyton Mannings first playoff win since the 2010 AFC Championship game ending a three-game losing streak. Their next opponent will be Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in what will be a great game between two of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game of football.
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