The Broncos opened as a 7-point favorite and sports betting sites immediately started seeing action on the home side. Denver has won four-straight and will try and use home field advantage Sunday to make it a “Mile High Five.”

San Diego has earned a reputation the past eight years for coming on strong in the second-half of the season. Five playoff appearances since 2004 have earned this team serious clout in the AFC West but Peyton Manning has sent a clear message that there’s a new sheriff in town.

Three of Denver’s wins during this streak have come on the road and their only home loss was Week 3 against the powerful Texans (8-1 SU). San Diego has just two wins in its past seven games, both coming against a terrible Chiefs (1-8 SU) squad. Before that, San Diego opened the season with back-to-back wins against Oakland and Tennessee but neither of those teams possess anywhere near the firepower of the Broncos.

HORSE POWER

Weighted heavily by the passing game, Denver’s offense is one of the best in the league. San Diego’s offense ranks 24th and both the passing and rushing attack have struggled. In terms of run blocking, offensive line stats are similar for both teams but Denver has a clear advantage in pass protection. They are first in the league with a 3.6-percent adjusted sack rate while the Chargers are 25th (7.7-percent).

Denver also has the edge in defense and the Broncos are better against the pass but they still rank top 10 in rushing yards per game (RYPG) allowed and at home they are No. 2 in the league (83.5 yds). San Diego rushed for 90 yards against Denver in Week 6 and in three games since then the Chargers average just 4.0 yards per carry.

DEPTH CHARGE

Broncos LB DJ Williams is coming back from suspension this week, adding to the depth of a defensive front seven that ranks second in the league for QB sack percentage. Denver leads the league with 3.4 QB sacks per game while San Diego is tied for 27th at 1.6 per game.

Williams won’t see a full workload right away but 2011 Defensive Rookie of the Year Von Miller is getting better with each game. DE Elvis Dumervil is day to day after injuring his shoulder in Carolina but with Dumervil sidelined most of the game, the Broncos received a solid effort from Robert Ayers and rookie Malik Jackson. If San Diego can’t get its run game going, and chances are good they won’t, look for Denver to pin its ears back and make life rough on Phil Rivers.

I'm on the Broncos -7 (-120)