Peyton Manning will enter this Thursday Night Football matchup against the San Diego Charges as the new recorded holder for touchdown passes after leapfrogging Brett Favre for the title. He toss four of them in a routing of San Francisco while totally up 510 passing yards in the process. Without much time to prepare, he cannot rest too much on the title as the Denver Broncos enter an important AFC West matchup with the lead at stake.
Manning has thrown for a touchdown against the Chargers in 11 straight meetups. He is looking to extend that streak on Thursday. However, the Chargers got the best of the Broncos last year, beating Denver 27-20 at home. Quarterback Philip Rivers would like to pull off the upset once again and could do so with his arm. The Broncos are giving up 242.5 passing yards per game, facing a quarterback that has thrived against the team in recent years. Right now, Rivers has 17 touchdowns and third-highest passer rating in the NFL. However, he is coming off a game where he went just 17 for 31 for 205 yards and two touchdowns.
San Diego will have to rely on the passing game as Denver's run defense currently ranks third in the league giving up just 74.3 yards per game. The Chargers will be without Ryan Mathews who lit up the Broncos last year with 127 yards. He is nursing a sprained MCL. Branden Oliver has been the breakout star, putting up 316 yards and two touchdowns in the last three games. Denver's defense is much improved from last year where they gave up 101.6 rushing yards per game.
The Chargers' defense will have limit one of the best offensive units in the league. Ronnie Hillman is thriving in place of Montee Ball with 240 yards and two scores on the season. He mixes well with the receiving corps of Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Wes Welker and Julius Thomas. The tight end leads the team with nine touchdown catches, but it is Demaryius that was responsible for the record-breaking touchdown catch.
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