Chargers hold on to beat Broncos

Phillip Rivers wrote himself into the San Diego Chargers' history books in their 21-13 win over the Denver Broncos.

Rivers threw 178 yards and one touchdown to become the Chargers' leading passer, surpassing Dan Fouts' total of 43,040 yards.

The defeat for the defending Super Bowl champions, whose coach Gary Kubiak was missing with a migraine, was their second on the bounce, ending 15 straight wins on the road.

On the first drive of the night, Rivers led the Chargers on an 75 yard touchdown drive, as tight end Hunter Henry caught the end zone pass to go 7-0 up. The Broncos offence struggled to get on the field as Rivers then led a 10 minute drive, the longest in the so far this season, finished by a 37 yard field goal for Josh Lambo. 

The Broncos caught a break in the second quarter when, after punting away, Travis Benjamin muffed the ball and Will Parks recovered on the San Diego 11 yard line. Trevor Siemian couldn't advance but Brandon McManus added the 29 yard kick to make it 10-3.

After a 48 yard run from Chargers running back Melvin Gordon early in the third quarter, Lambo added another field goal before San Diego scored another to go 16-3 up, linebacker Korey Toomer recovering a Jordan Howard fumble.

The Broncos gave away 103 yards in penalties, the majority coming in the second half. Two costly fouls moved San Diego close enough for another three point score, before offensive holding on Max Garcia gave the Chargers a two point safety, extending their advantage to 21-3.  

It took until the last eight minutes for Denver to register a touchdown, as Siemian found Bennie Fowler for a five yard score. It was a disappointing night for the second year quarterback, who had just 39 passing yards in the first half. His numbers improved, but it wasn't a pretty performance and the Broncos only hung around because their defence limited San Diego's attack.

With 30 seconds remaining, the Broncos added a field goal to get within eight and recovered the onside kick, but couldn't find the end zone as Siemian's 'Hail Mary' came up short, and Denver lost a second consecutive game.

San Diego exorcised a few demons by hanging on to the win, but they once again made it difficult for themselves by settling for field goals instead of touchdowns. It doesn't get any easier for head coach Mike McCoy and the Chargers, who now face the Atlanta Falcons on the road before a rematch in Denver.