NFL: Peyton Manning leads Denver charge

Denver Broncos pulled clear at the top of the AFC West with a 30-23 victory over division rivals San Diego Chargers at Mile High.

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning recovered from an early interception that was returned all the way by Eric Weddle to throw for 270 yards and three touchdowns.

Manning connected with Demaryius Thomas and Brandon Stokely on touchdown passes in the second quarter to put Denver 17-7 up at half-time.

He added a third on a 20-yard pass to Eric Decker in the third quarter before a pair of Matt Prater field goals, his second and third of the game, padded the Broncos’ lead to 30-16.

The Chargers pulled back to within a score when Philip Rivers found Danario Alexander in the end zone on a 21-yard pass with one minute and 24 seconds remaining.

But they failed to recover an onside kick and the Broncos were able to close out a win that improves their record to 7-3, three games clear of the Chargers (4-6).