The Chargers entered the fourth quarter of Thursday night's game with a 16-point lead. For once, they didn't blow it.

The Chargers held off the Broncos for a 21-13 victory at Qualcomm Stadium.


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Broncos coach Gary Kubiak was not at the game because of migraines. Special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis served as Denver's interim head coach Thursday. The Broncos were plagued by 12 penalties for 103 yards. The most crucial penalty was a holding call — the fifth of the night — that negated a C.J. Anderson touchdown that would have made it a one-score game with 4:13 remaining.

San Diego could have put the game out of reach early, but settled for four Josh Lambo field goals inside the red zone.

The Chargers' maligned defense held the Broncos to 60 yards of offense and just two first downs in the first half. The Chargers have been very good in the first halves of games this season, but the second half has been a different story. The Chargers had lost four games by a total of 14 points with each defeat coming after they held a second-half lead.

The Chargers have not had much recent success within their own division and especially against the Broncos. The Chargers had lost 10 straight games to AFC West opponents and dropped nine of their last 10 versus the Broncos. The Broncos had not lost an AFC West road game since 2010, a span of 15 games.

The last Chargers victory over the Broncos came Dec. 12, 2013, which was also a Thursday. San Diego harassed second-year quarterback Trevor Siemian most of the night with rookie defensive end Joey Bosa providing most of the pressure. The former Northwestern quarterback was sacked twice, and was consistently under duress. Siemian finished 30 of 50 for 230 yards and a touchdown.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers threw for 178 yards and passed Hall of Famer Dan Fouts as the franchise's all-time passing leader. His 12-yard pass to rookie tight end Hunter Henry on the second play of the second quarter broke Fouts' franchise record of 43,040 yards.

The Chargers held a 10-3 halftime lead with Denver's only points coming after recovering a muffed punt at the Chargers 11-yard line. After the Broncos gave the Chargers a safety with a holding call in the end zone, the short kick was muffed by offensive lineman Kenny Wiggins. The Broncos converted the turnover into a 5-yard touchdown pass from Siemian to Bennie Fowler with 8:08 remaining.

The Broncos got a late field goal and recovered an onside kick, but Siemian's Hail Mary attempt was knocked down as time expired.

"I was afraid we were going to find another way (to lose)," Rivers told CBS Sports. "We finally won a division game. We found a way to win.

"Winning a division game is big."


Melvin Gordon has finally started to look like the running back the Chargers hoped he'd be when they selected him with the 15th overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft. He finished with 94 yards on 27 carries and his 48-yard run in the third quarter, a career long, set up a 21-yard Lambo field goal.


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Henry, a second-round pick in April, had the best game of his young career with six catches for 83 yards.

The Chargers took a step toward salvaging their season, but still have plenty of room for improvement. Thursday's game should not have been close, but stalled drives in the red zone and another lackluster fourth quarter did little to build much confidence in Chargers coach Mike McCoy.

The Broncos, on the other hand, lost for the second straight time after opening the season with four straight victories. Denver has to use its extra time to regroup before a Monday night game against Houston.