Broncos look to revive home field advantage

(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

The Broncos have a chance to do something this afternoon that they haven’t been able to accomplish in nearly five years—defeat San Diego at home.

Denver, once dominate at home with the aid of Mile High Magic, had lost its home field advantage leading up to the arrival of quarterback Peyton Manning.  This season, the Broncos are 3-1 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High and will be looking to improve that record on Sunday.

The last time the Broncos beat the Chargers in Denver was during the 2008 season, when a Jay Cutler fumble-ruled-incompletion helped the team to a 39-38 victory.  Since then, the Broncos have tried Kyle Orton, Chris Simms, and Tim Tebow against San Diego, falling short in three consecutive seasons.

Things are different this season.  Manning has the Broncos offense rolling and the defense proved earlier in the season that it can stand up to San Diego’s star-powered offense.

A win at home this week would improve the Broncos 2012 season record to 7-3, Manning’s all-time record against San Diego to 6-3, Denver’s record to 87-40 when in blue, and their all-time record vs. San Diego to 57-48-1.

But perhaps more important than any of those numbers, the Broncos would improve to 2-0 against the Chargers on the season with a three-game lead (plus tie-breakers) in the AFC West.

Manning and Co. have a chance to do something that hasn’t been done in years.  Manning has become known for doing things that have never been done. You have to like the Broncos’ odds.