While the Denver Broncos might not win any beauty contests for the way they play football, the team has found a winning formula, as they rallied for a 16-13 OT victory over the San Diego Chargers. With the win, the Broncos have now won four straight games and moved one game behind the Oakland Raiders in the NFC West.
In a back-and-forth OT, the Chargers had a chance to win, but Nick Novak missed a 53-yard FG attempt that would have won the game. With the Broncos having excellent field position following the miss, they drove down the field to setup Matt Prater for the game-winning 37-yard field goal.
As they have throughout the winning streak, the Broncos relied on a dominant rushing attack to earn the win. Willis McGahee led the way on the ground, rushing for 117 yards on 23 carries. Tim Tebow added 67 yards on 22 carries and also threw for 143 yards.
Although Tebow and the option attack have garnered much of the attention, it was the Broncos defense that led the way in this victory. In the past five weeks, the Broncos defense has held all of their opponents under 17 points and has been truly dominant. While Ryan Matthews was able to rush for 137 yards, the Broncos limited Philip Rivers to only 188 yards passing.
Denver will look to extend its winning streak to five games when it visits the Minnesota Vikings. San Diego will hope to end its six-game losing streak when it visits Jacksonville for a Monday Night Football matchup.
For more on this game, visit Broncos blog Mile High Report and Chargers blog Bolts from the Blue. Check out SB Nation NFL for more on Week 12's action.