Broncos surpass Patriots in AFC pecking order with solid win

There was nothing fancy about the Denver Broncos' 17-3 victory against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. Nothing pretty about amassing 293 yards of offense against one of the league's worst statistical defenses. Nothing mind-blowing about their special teams, either.

But this win was rather huge.

With the New England Patriots losing in Foxborough, the Broncos suddenly find themselves in far better shape to earn a first-round bye and secure the top seed in the AFC. The Cincinnati Bengals loom, but they have to travel to Denver later this month that could be a battle for the top spot.

Right now the order is Bengals, Broncos and the Patriots in the AFC playoff pecking order.

Don't overlook Sunday's win in San Diego. This one had trap game written all over it. Philip Rivers victimized the Broncos more than once in the past, but it had his number Sunday. Rivers had nearly as many completions (18) as incompletions (17), averaged a paltry 5.8 yards per attempt, was sacked four times, completed one pass longer than 16 yards and threw a pick-six that got the Broncos rolling.

They did all that on defense despite being without three starters — DeMarcus Ware, T.J. Ward and Sylvester Williams.

Brock Osweiler had his worst start, throwing a pick and operating a pedestrian passing attack, but he too worked without a full complement of players. The Broncos lost tight end Vernon Davis, running back C.J. Anderson and offensive guard Louis Vasquez. The run game was fine, but the Anderson injury — bad timing, with him playing his best ball of the season — bears attention.

The Broncos have tough games remaining against the Bengals and at Pittsburgh and still need to finish strong. Plus, there's still the whole Peyton Manning thing — until a decision is made on the health of his foot, there's still a belief they could go back to him as the starter.

But for now, the Broncos are rolling again, and even in their new starting quarterback's worst game (which wasn't all that bad) they still were in control on the road.