With a 27-20 win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, the Denver Broncos moved their season record to 12-4. That record was not only good enough to win the AFC West over the 11-5 Chiefs, but it also tied them with both the Bengals and Patriots for the top mark in the AFC. Because the Broncos beat both Cincinnati (Week 16) and New England (Week 12), the three-way tie resulted in their clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
The Broncos trailed San Diego 13-7 in the third quarter. The Chargers were helped to that lead by five Broncos turnovers, including fumbles by Emmanuel Sanders and C.J. Anderson and a fumble and two picks by Brock Osweiler. After the Chargers answered the Anderson fumble with the touchdown that staked them to the 13-7 lead, Broncos coach Gary Kubiak brought Peyton Manning off the bench for the rest of the game.
Anderson scored on a 1-yard run on Manning's first drive to take the lead back for the Broncos. After the Chargers turned the ball over on downs on the ensuing drive, Denver sandwiched a Chargers touchdown with two field goals and the game was tied at 20 with just under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
A few minutes later, Philip Rivers threw a backbreaking interception over the middle. The next play, Ronnie Hillman scampered 23 yards into the end zone for what would prove to be the game-winning touchdown.
By the end of the day, Manning had thrown just nine passes, connecting on five of them for 69 yards. The Broncos let their running backs shoulder the load even after Manning relieved Osweiler, handing the ball off 17 times compared to nine passes, a sack, and two kneel-downs.
Despite a Sunday morning report that Osweiler would be the team's QB until Manning was healthy, the Broncos indeed wound up turning to Manning when they needed a win to clinch both the division and home field. What that means for the team's quarterback situation heading into the playoffs isn't known right now, but it would be pretty strange for the Broncos to go to Manning in Week 17, only to put him right back on the bench for the postseason. The Broncos will host the lowest-seeded winner of the Texans-Chiefs and Bengals-Steelers games in two weeks' time.
