Denver Broncos make stunning comeback in second half to beat San Diego Chargers 35-24 – NFL Recap
From 0-24 behind in the first half, Denver Broncos managed to win 35-24 against their American Football Conference (AFC) West rivals San Diego Chargers in Week 6 tie on Monday, October 15, 2012, at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California.
It was a tale of two halves as Chargers flew to 24-point lead in the second quarter at a time when Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning gave away one interception and looked helpless.
When Manning and company entered the second half, it was a totally different ball game. Manning scored three touchdowns in the second half. Giving his remarks about this remarkable game, Manning said:
“It sure was special considering what was on the line. It's about playing 60 minutes. There's no quit in this team. Just imagine what we can do if we don’t put ourselves in a hole in the first half. Some things we have to improve on, but I definitely agree
that you can build off of this.”
Manning completed 24 out of 30 for 309 yards. He was 13 of 14 for 167 yards in the second half.
The quarterback was amazed with how things went in the game that tied the record of the fourth biggest comeback in a regular season game.
This was Chargers’ second consecutive game in which they lost after putting up a hefty lead in the first half.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers had nightmare of a second half, getting intercepted for a total of four times.
He also fumbled the ball twice. He finished with 25 of 41 for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Rivers expressed utter unhappiness towards the way things went in the second half. According to the Associated Press, Rivers said:
“Every loss hurts, regardless of what negative plays or how you lose a game. When you lose its rough, especially in a game where you have such a big lead. And so much was at stake.”
Broncos got to a bad start as the special teams gave away the ball twice while kicking punts.
This led to Chargers getting the possession and scoring a field goal as well as a touchdown in the first quarter to lead 10-0.
Things went from bad to worse for the Broncos offence as Manning was intercepted by cornerback Quentin Jammer, who returned it 80 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Chargers struck again in the final minute of the quarter with an 11-yard pass to tight end Antonio Gates to finish the first half 24-0.
Broncos’ counterattack started in the third quarter with Manning’s 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.
Rivers then fumbled the ball which was grabbed by Broncos defensive back Tony Carter, who ran 65 yards to reach the end zone, taking the score to 14-24.
Two touchdowns from Manning in the final quarter took the lead away from Chargers with less than 10 minutes left in the regulation.
After that, Rivers’ pass was intercepted once again, this time by Broncos cornerback Chris Harris, who ran 46 yards to take Broncos’ score to 35 points. Both Chargers and Broncos are tied atop AFC West standings with 3-3 record.
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