It was a tale of two halves. The Chargers dominated the first 30 minutes to take a 24-0 lead only to see the Broncos put up a furious rally and ultimately steal a 35-24 victory at Qualcomm Stadium.
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The Chargers started off fast with a pair of opportunistic turnovers on special teams. First, Trindon Holliday muffed a punt when 
Peyton Manning was marching the Broncos down the field in the second quarter when
That’s when it all unraveled. The Broncos came out with a purpose. They scored their first points of the game when Manning hit Demaryius Thomas for a 29-yard touchdown less than five minutes into the game. On the Chargers next drive, Rivers was stripped as he dropped back to pass. Tony Carter recovered it and brought it 65-yards all the way back for a touchdown. With 4:41 to go in the third quarter, the Chargers lead was narrowed down to 10, 24-14.
The Broncos continued to cut that lead even further when Eric Decker dragged a gaggle of defenders into the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown. With 13:33 remaining in the game, the Chargers led 24-21, but the momentum had already shifted. On the ensuing drive, Rivers went deep for
Turning Point
The Broncos had just scored coming out of halftime, and the Chargers looked to quell any momentum they may be building. It was going well for the Bolts, as they were driving into Denver territory and were within field goal range. Then, on third down, Rivers dropped back to pass and was stripped by Elvis Dumervil. The ball took a couple bounces before Tony Carter scooped it up and ran 65-yards for the touchdown. In the blink of an eye, the score was 24-14 and the Broncos had all the momentum in the world as they stormed back for the win
It Was Over When…
Looking to drive the ball down the field for a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes, Rivers threw a pass to the left sideline intended for
Play of the Game
Quentin Jammer is an 11-year veteran, but he never had a touchdown until tonight. Manning threw a quick out while the receiver ran a go-pattern, and the ball came directly to Jammer. The cornerback raced up the sideline, dodging Broncos as he rumbled his way into the end zone for an 80-yard touchdown.
Stat of the Game
The 24-0 halftime deficit was the largest overcome by a visiting team in the history of the NFL.
Bolt Quotebook
“That’s as tough as it gets. Right now, we’re not able to put together a complete game.” – Head Coach Norv Turner
“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.”- Quarterback Philip Rivers
“I don’t understand how it happened. But the tough thing is we’ve got a week to think about it. We need a game to redeem ourselves.” – Linebacker Jarrett Johnson
“We wanted to win. We needed to win the game. And for some reason in the second half, the game flipped on us and it didn’t go the way we wanted it to go.” – Safety
“This is just like last week. Man, it’s a tale of two halves. It’s what I said coming off the field. We can’t do that. We’ve got to learn from this. We’ve got to. Everyone has to look at themselves in the mirror and see what he can do to get better and help this team win. We have to finish games. Everyone has to get that mindset.” – Fullback Le’Ron McClain
“I thought I felt every emotion there is in this game when you lose, but I’ve never felt like this” – Linebacker
Odds and Ends
Philip Rivers six turnovers were a career-high.
The two touchdown passes from Rivers to Gates were the 50th and 51st touchdown connection between the two, the most for any QB-TE tandem.
The Chargers continued to be strong against the run, limiting the Broncos to just 57 yards on the ground.
The only change in the starting lineup was
The inactives tonight included
Tonight was the team’s Breast Cancer Awareness Night.
