NFL: Peyton Manning stars as again as Denver Broncos beat San Diego Chargers 35-21

Denver quarterback Peyton Manning added three more touchdowns to his career record as the Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers 35-21 on Thursday night.

Manning took his career touchdown total to 513, four days after overtaking Brett Favre as the leader on the all-time list.

The Broncos won their fourth successive game and improved to 6-1, the best record in the AFC and tied for the best record in the league with the Dallas Cowboys.

The final scoreline flattered the Chargers -  two of their touchdowns were late on when the game was all-but over - and they fell to 5-3, second behind Denver in the AFC West.

All three of Manning's touchdown passes were to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who caught nine passes for 120 yards.

"We're trying to put pressure on a defense, get everybody involved and tonight was Emmanuel's night," said Manning, who completed 25-of-35 passes for 286 yards.

While happy with another victory, he issued warning to his team not to get too carried away by the result against a team that had several key players out injured.

Systems

Sanders, meanwhile, sounded like the consummate team player.

"In this system you've got to wait your turn," said Sanders, who was acquired as a free agent from Pittsburgh in the off-season.

"Everyone is going to eat eventually and tonight was just my night. At any moment, this offense can take off."

San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers said he was impressed with the Broncos, particularly with the number of game-changing players on their team.

"When I think about defenses, offenses that are scary, it's who makes game-changing plays and they're really good."

Rivers matched Manning's three touchdowns, though two of them came fairly late in the game when the Chargers were in a deep hole.