Peyton Manning spent this week railing against the narrative that he can’t win games in cold weather.
Thursday night against the San Diego Chargers, Peyton Manning again lost in cold weather.
The usually high-powered Broncos’ offense was held to less than 300 yards of total offense by the Chargers on a chilly night in Denver. With temperatures into the 30s, Manning went 27 of 41 for 289 yards and two touchdowns. However, a late interception led to a field goal by Nick Novak to give the Chargers a two-score lead with 2:36 left to play.
Manning’s pass for Julius Thomas was deflected by Corey Liuget and picked off by Thomas Keiser at the Denver 33-yard line. San Diego managed one first down before a 35-yard field goal from Novak gave the Chargers a 27-17 lead.
Manning led the Broncos to a 42-yard field goal from Matt Prater to pull within a touchdown but an onside kick attempt failed to travel the required 10 yards and the Chargers were able to run out the clock.
The Broncos scored a touchdown on their opening possession but were held to just a field goal until the fourth quarter.
San Diego scored 21 straight points with two touchdown passes from Philip Rivers to Keenan Allen to give the Chargers a 24-10 lead.
Manning hit Andre Caldwell for a 5-yard touchdown, his second of the night, to pull within a touchdown. The Broncos defense held to give Denver a chance to tie before Manning’s interception ended those hopes.
Ryan Mathews had one of his best games for San Diego in the win. He carried 29 times for 127 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers.