NFL Old School Game of the Week: Manning Leads Broncos Back From 24-Point Halftime Deficit to Win over Chargers

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning would throw for 309 yards and three touchdown passes in the Broncos' comeback win over the Chargers.

 On March 20, 2012, the Denver Broncos signed quarterback Peyton Manning to a five-year contract with the hopes that he would the Broncos back to the Super Bowl.

However, his first season got off to a rough start as the Broncos went 2-3 over the first month of the 2012 season as they traveled to San Diego to take on their division rivals, the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football.

The Chargers came into the game with a 3-2 record under head coach Norv Turner, who was under pressure to get the Bolts back to the playoffs after a two-year absence as the two old AFL rivals prepared to face off for the 105th time.

The first break of the game would go to the Chargers when the Broncos' Trenton Holliday muffed a punt which was recovered by San Diego backup tight end Dante Rosario at the Denver 17-yard-line which would lead to a 32-yard field goal by Nick Novak to give the Chargers a 3-0 lead.

Though the Broncos dodged that bullet, disaster would strike on the ensuing kickoff when Omar Bolden lost the football when he was hit by Chargers defensive back Darrell Stuckey which was recovered by Corey Lynch to give San Diego the ball at the Denver 19-yard-line.

Ryan Matthews would run for four yards to set up 2nd & 6 when quarterback Philip Rivers found tight end Antonio Gates for a 15-yard touchdown to give the Chargers a 10-0 lead with 8:16 left in the first quarter.

The score was still 10-0 in favor of San Diego when Rivers was intercepted by Broncos defensive back Jim Leonhard on a deep pass intended for Gates to give Denver the ball back at its five-yard-line.

Two plays later, Manning hit a wide open Eric Decker who appeared on his way to an 85-yard touchdown only to trip over his feet at the San Diego 40-yard-line and get tackled 10 yards later as Denver would have a 1st down at the Chargers' 30-yard-line.

A four-yard run by Willis McGahee and an incomplete pass would set up 3rd & 6 at the Chargers' 26-yard-line when Manning was picked off by San Diego cornerback Quentin Jammer who return the interception 80 yards for a touchdown to increase the Chargers' lead to 17-0 with six minutes left in the second quarter.

After Denver would go three-and-out on its next possession, the Chargers would get the ball back at their 34-yard-line when they put together their best drive of the first half as they would drive 66 yards in 10 plays, culminating with a 11-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to gates to make it a 24-0 game in favor of San Diego with 24 seconds to in the first half.

Manning would take a knee to rule out the clock as the Broncos went into the locker room down 24 points but set to get the ball to start the second half.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers would throw for 241 yards and two touchdowns but also throw four interceptions.

Starting at his 15-yard-line, Manning would complete a 11-yard pass to Joel Dressen, then handed the ball off to McGahee who would only pick up two yards to set up 2nd & 8 when Manning found Dressen again this time for 19 yards to give the Broncos a 1st down at their 47-yard-line.

After a pass to McGahee gained zero yards, Manning completed passes of 14 yards to Decker and 10 yards to Dressen to put the Broncos at the Chargers' 29-yard-line when Manning found Demaryius Thomas for a 29-yard touchdown to put Denver on the board to cut the San Diego lead to 24-7 with just over 11 minutes left in the third quarter.

The Chargers appeared unfazed by the touchdown as they drove from their 15-yard-line to the Broncos' 33-yard-line with a chance to increase their lead as they were faced with a 3rd & 8 situation.

That is when Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil sacked Rivers to knock the ball loose which was recovered by defensive back Tony Carter who returned the fumble 65 yards for a touchdown to cut the Chargers' lead to 24-14 with 4:41 left in the third quarter.

The Chargers would go three-and-out on their ensuing possession to give the ball back to the Broncos who took over at their 45-yard-line as two runs by McGahee for 11 yards give Denver a 1st down at the San Diego 44-yard-line.

An nine-yard pass from Manning to Dressen would set up 2nd & 1 when McGahee was stopped for no gain to bring up 3rd & 1 when the Broncos went backwards on a false start penalty and a holding penalty to force 3rd & 16 as the third quarter came to an end.

The fourth quarter would begin with Manning completing a 25-yard pass to tight end Jacob Tamme to give the Broncos a 1st down at the San Diego 25-yard-line as two more runs by McGahee for 11 yards gave Denver another 1st down at the Chargers' 14-yard-line as Manning would complete a seven-yard pass to Decker, then hit Decker again for a seven-yard touchdown to make it a three-point game at 24-21 with 13:33 left in the fourth quarter.

Needing to turn the momentum back in their favor, the Chargers would drive from their 15-yard-line to their 31-yard-line when Rivers was picked off again, this time by Carter, who returned the interception 15 yards to give the Broncos the ball at the 50-yard-line.

From there, Manning would complete two passes to Brandon Stokley for 15 yards to go along with a nine-yard run by McGahee and a five-yard offsides penalty on the Chargers to put Denver at the San Diego 21-yard-line.

That is when Manning lofted a pass for Stokley in the right corner of the end zone who would outleap Chargers defensive back Marcus Gilchrist to make the catch for the 21-yard touchdown to give the Broncos their first lead of the game at 28-24 with 9:03 to go in the fourth quarter.

Having seen their lead disappeared, the Chargers would get the ball back at their 32-yard-line as Rivers would complete passes of 13 yards to Gates and six yards to Malcolm Floyd to put the Chargers in Denver territory at the Broncos' 49-yard-line.

However four plays later, Rivers would be intercepted again, this time by Broncos cornerback Chris Harris give Denver the ball back at its 34-yard-line.

The Broncos would pick up one 1st down before punting the ball back to the Chargers who would take over at their 14-yard-line with 3:52 left in the game, needing a touchdown to retake the lead.

Two passes to Floyd for 21 yards and two runs by Ronnie Brown for 10 yards would put San Diego at its 45-yard-line when Rivers would throw his fourth interception of the game as Harris would step in front of a pass intended for Eddie Royal and run it back for a 46-yard pick-six to increase the Broncos' lead to 35-24 with 2:05 left in the game.

Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley catches the go-ahead touchdown pass.

The Chargers would start their next drive at their 20-yard-line as Rivers would complete three passes for 27 yards to put San Diego at its 47-yard-line until Rivers was sacked by Broncos linebacker Von Miller for a six-yard loss on 1st down, which was followed by two straight incomplete passes to force a 4th 7 16 when Rivers was sacked again by Dumervil to give the ball back to Denver at the San Diego 33-yard-line with 52 seconds to go in the game.

Manning would come and take two knees to run out the clock as the Broncos would come away with the 35-24 victory, equaling the greatest comeback in Denver Broncos history as well as Monday Night Football history.

The loss to the Broncos would send the Chargers' season into a spiral as they would lose six of their next eight games as San Diego would finish the season with a 7-9 record marking the first losing season for the Chargers since 2003 which resulted in the dismissal of Turner as head coach after six seasons.

As for the Broncos, their comeback victory against the Chargers would be the first win of a 11-game winning streak as Denver finished the season with the league's best record at 13-3 to earn home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

But the Broncos would go out in the Divisional Round as they were stunned by the Baltimore Ravens, thanks to the "Mile High Miracle" a game-tying 70-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Flacco to Jacoby Jones with 31 seconds left in regulation as the Ravens would go on to win the game 38-35 in double overtime.

Manning would come back with a vengeance the following season as he would throw for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdown passes to lead the Broncos to the Super Bowl where they would be destroyed by the Seattle Seahawks 43-8 to hand Denver its fifth loss in the Super Bowl.

However two years later, Manning, with help from the Broncos' defense, would lead Denver to its third Super Bowl title as the Broncos would knock off the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in Super Bowl 50 in what would be the final game in Manning's 18-year NFL career.