Denver Broncos and unexpected and harmful 27-20 loss Thursday ni

DENVER -- Now, Peyton Manning gets a chance to rest. cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com . Big question: Does he really need a break? Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers kept Manning on the sideline most of the game and handed the Denver Broncos and unexpected and harmful 27-20 loss Thursday night. Rivers threw two touchdown passes to Keenan Allen and kept the Chargers offence on the field for nearly 39 minutes, keeping their playoff hopes alive while turning Denvers supposedly easy road to the AFC West title and top seeding in the conference into something much different. "We didnt play well, didnt stay on the field, didnt have the ball much and, when we did, we didnt do much with it," Manning said. The Broncos gained 13 yards on the 13 plays they ran after taking a 10-3 lead late in the first quarter. That covered four drives during which they went three-and-out three times and picked up a total of one first down. "The longer you keep the ball and the less he has it, the better off youre going to be," said Chargers coach Mike McCoy, Mannings former offensive co-ordinator. Rivers finished 12 for 20 for 166 yards and improved to 28-6 in December. Ryan Matthews matched his season high with 127 yards on 29 carries. After Denvers long dry spell on offence, San Diego led 24-10, and though the Broncos (11-3) had overcome double-digit deficits four times this season to win, it wasnt happening this time. They pulled within seven and Manning got the ball on the Denver 3 with 5:50 left. He moved the Broncos 30 yards in two plays with the help of a penalty. But the Chargers maligned defence produced some pass rush and forced a bad throw, which linebacker Thomas Keiser picked off at the Denver 33. The Chargers (7-7) got a field goal to go up 10. Denver answered with a field goal but couldnt recover the onside kick. Mannings final numbers were decent -- 27 for 41 for 289 yards and two touchdowns -- but padded during desperation time. As most veterans do, especially this time of year, Manning griped about the short turnaround between a Sunday and Thursday game, the likes of which have become more common since the NFL started scheduling midweek contests for almost every week. Adding to the fatigue: Denver ran 91 plays on offence while scoring 51 points Sunday in a blowout over Tennessee. "Did the (91) plays on offence take a toll? I cant answer that," Manning said. Now, hell get 10 days to chew on it. It was the first regular-season loss at home for Denver in 14 tries, dating to last September against Houston, back when Manning was still getting his footing in Denver and the Texans, who happen to be Denvers next opponent, were still good. "A Thursday night game, second division game, youre never sure what youre going to get," Manning said. "But its been that way all season for us. Teams play us different than they play other teams." Whatever it was, it worked for the Chargers, who started gaining some confidence against Denver when they scored the final 14 points in a 28-20 loss to the Broncos last month. Doesnt hurt that theyre coached by Mannings former offensive co-ordinator, McCoy, who won the opening coin toss and boldly deferred, giving the Manning the ball first. Manning marched the Broncos 67 yards in seven plays for a quick score and this had the looks of a typical blowout for a team thats cracked 50 points three times this year. Not so fast. His every move well diagnosed, Manning had two passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage. Chargers defenders wrapped up on Denvers receivers, holding those much-coveted yards after catch to a minimum after so many of Mannings typically short timing routes. Not having to worry about Wes Welker, out with a concussion, they blanketed the other receivers and turned fourth-stringer Bubba Caldwell into Mannings prime target. A good bet. Caldwell led Denver with six catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns, while none of the other Denver receivers did much harm. Denvers previous low in scoring was 27 points against the Chiefs. The defence, meanwhile, was poor once again -- not Super Bowl material on this night. The most telling sequence came in the third quarter when Rivers moved the Chargers from their 1 to midfield over 12 plays. Denver committed two costly penalties -- an offside when San Diego had the punt team out on fourth-and-4, then a 12-men-on-the-field that set up first-and-5 and allowed the Chargers to burn more clock. Though they didnt score, they ate 8:20 off the clock and flipped the field. "We didnt mention one word about time of possession this week," Rivers said. "We said, Weve got to score. Time of possession is only important if youre scoring." They scored more, and now, the Broncos must sweat out the race in the AFC. Their three losses are now equal with New England and Kansas City. Denver owns the tiebreaker against the Chiefs but not against the Patriots. Their next two games are against Houston and Oakland -- combined record 6-20 -- but after a home loss to another losing team, suddenly anything seems possible. Notes: The Broncos had their 10-game winning streak against the AFC West snapped. ... Allen has now scored four touchdowns in the last two games. ... Broncos rookie DT Sylvester Williams recorded his first career sack. Cheap Jerseys . The thunderous cheers quickly changed to an appreciative chant: "Ma-son! Ma-son! Ma-son! Headed to New York with new life, Mason sure earned this curtain call. http://www.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com/ . Canada had opened Day 2 at the tournament with a 24-0 loss to New Zealand in the Cup quarter-final before beating Samoa 27-0 to cruise into the Plate final. The loss in the Plate final means Canada finished sixth in the rugby sevens tournament. CHICAGO -- The way A.J. Pierzynski sees it, theres no reason the Chicago White Sox cant contend until the end of the season. They just might if they keep this up. Adam Dunn hit his 15th homer, Pierzynski and Dayan Viciedo both went deep for the second time in as many nights, and the White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 9-3 on Friday night for their seventh win in eight games. Pierzynski also tripled and scored three runs while driving in two. Viciedo knocked in two runs and scored twice, and the White Sox gave Jose Quintana (1-0) all the support he needed in his first major league start. "We have a good feeling," Pierzynski said. "Theres been some ups and downs, but at the end of the day, when we come in, we know that theres a positive vibe. Guys want to do well. Guys are trying to do well. Theyre working their tails off to do well. We know were in for a dogfight, but at the end of the day, we like where were at. We like our chances. If we continue to pitch and get some hits like we have, we should be able to win." The White Sox again used the long ball to take out the AL Central leaders after hitting five homers Thursday against Minnesota. Dunn drove a two-run shot in the first after Cleveland scored a run in the top half. Pierzynski connected leading off the second, and Chicago broke open a one-run game in the sixth, scoring three times with two outs while chasing Jeanmar Gomez (3-3). Alexei Ramirez knocked him out with an RBI single after Pierzynski and Viciedo walked, and Alejandro De Aza drove in two more runs with a bases loaded single off Jairo Asencio to make it 6-2, sending Cleveland to just its third loss in 11 games. The White Sox added three more with two outs in the seventh, with Alex Rios reaching on a single to third that initially was ruled an error and scoring on Pierzynskis triple before Viciedo hit a two-run homer. Its not what the Indians envisioned after sweeping a three-game series from Detroit, the team many thought would win the division. But the second-place White Sox are looking good at the moment. They swept the Cubs, took two of three from Minnesota, and they didnt blink with the schedule taking a tougher turn, pulling within 2 1/2 games of Cleveland on Friday. "I think its fun that way," the Indians Jason Kipnis saiid. http://www.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com/nike-nfl-jerseys-china_seattle-seahawks-jersey-china/. "It was good what we did against Detroit here at home, but now we got to turn our focus to these guys. These guys are closer in the division than Detroit is right now so its not like, Oh, we beat Detroit -- we did it. ...This team is good and we know that." While Gomez simply had a rough night, giving up six runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings, Quintana gave the White Sox what they needed. Called up from Triple-A Charlotte with John Danks going on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left shoulder, the 23-year-old left-hander allowed two runs and four hits in six innings. He wasnt quite as dominant against the Indians this time, after pitching 5 2-3 scoreless innings of relief against them in his only other appearance on May 7, but he was good enough and showed some poise, particularly in a tight spot in the fifth. With runners on second and third, he retired Asdrubal Cabrera on a foul pop and Carlos Santana on a groundout to end the threat. "I knew I needed to get these outs," Quintana said through an interpreter. "It was dire for us to have this win, and so all I did was go out there and concentrate on each pitch that I was pitching and just try to get a strike on each one that I was throwing." Notes: Cabrera was replaced at shortstop in the seventh because of tightness in his left hamstring, and Santana, the catcher, left in the eighth after being struck by a foul tip. Manager Manny Acta said they could have stayed in if necessary but will be evaluated on Saturday. ... The Indians called up SS Juan Diaz from Double-A Akron and optioned starting pitcher Zach McAllister to Triple-A Columbus before the game. Acta said Diaz will likely be sent back to the minors on Monday, when pitcher Josh Tomlin (sore right wrist) is expected to be activated from the 15-day DL. Tomlin threw a 50-pitch bullpen session Thursday and reported no pain. ... Travis Hafner underwent an MRI on Thursday on his right knee and took an anti-inflammatory for irritation in the meniscus. He did not travel to Chicago. ... White Sox 2B Gordon Beckham made a neat play in the third when he raced back to make a sliding catch on Santanas foul down the right-field line. ... Jake Peavy starts Saturday for Chicago, with Derek Lowe going for the Indians. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '