Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes to Emmanuel Sanders, and the Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers, 35-21, in Denver on Thursday night.Sanders finished with nine receptions for 120 yards to pace first-place Denver (6-1).

After a scoreless first quarter, Manning and Sanders connected for two touchdowns in the second quarter, the last staking the Broncos to a 14-7 lead with just 32 seconds to play before halftime.

The duo recorded its third score of the night on Denver's first drive of the second half. Juwan Thompson's 2-yard TD run on the Broncos' next possession stretched their lead to 28-7.

San Diego (5-3) tallied two late touchdowns on passes from Philip Rivers to Antonio Gates, but they were unable to complete the rally. Rivers completed 30 of 41 passes for 252 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Manning was 25-for-35 for 286 yards and the three TD passes.

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