• WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 12, 6:25 p.m. MST.
• WHERE: Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
• TV: NFL Network.
• SERIES RECORD:  Broncos lead, 57-48-1.
• JOHN FOX'S RECORD: 4-2.
• PEYTON MANNING'S RECORD: 6-3 (0-2 in the playoffs).
• SERIES STREAK: The Broncos have won three straight overall. San Diego has won three of the last four and five of the last seven in Denver.
• LAST TIME IN DENVER: Broncos 30, Chargers 23; Nov. 18, 2012. Von Miller sacked Philip Rivers three times and forced two fumbles as the Broncos overwhelmed San Diego's outmatched offensive tackles en route to their fifth consecutive win. The Chargers took an early 7-0 lead on a 23-yard interception return by Eric Weddle, but the Broncos quickly regained control, scoring 24 of the next 26 points, 21 of which came via three Peyton Manning touchdown passes. Two Rivers-to-Danario Alexander touchdown passes narrowed the gap, but a pair of Matt Prater field goals in between those strikes gave the Broncos the final cushion. The win was not without cost; the Broncos lost Willis McGahee for the rest of the season to a knee injury. It would be his last Broncos game, as he was released six and a half months later.

NOTING THE GAME:

• Last year's win snapped the Chargers' longest winning streak in Denver (three games).
• History says it's better for the Broncos to face the Chargers at home in December. Denver is 5-0-1 since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger in home games against San Diego, but 4-11 in December games at Qualcomm Stadium (previously known as San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium).
• Manning's teams were 1-4 against the Chargers in games started by Rivers before last year. The Broncos' two wins with Manning at the controls in 2012 also gave them their first season sweep of San Diego since 2005.
• The Broncos are 4-2 on NFL Network's Thursday night package and have a four-game Thursday night winning streak that includes a 2-0 mark at home.
• Since 2009, the Chargers have won as many games (three) in Denver as they did in the 14 games from 1995-2009. They have won five of the last seven at Sports Authority Field. They won just five games in Denver from 1969-2005, going 5-31-1 in that span.
• The last three Broncos-Chargers games in Denver have been decided by seven points or less.
• Since 2006, the winner of this series in Denver has never failed to score at least 29 points and has averaged 34.1 points per game. San Diego has averaged 33.0 points per game in that span; the Chargers' pre-2006 average in Denver was 21.7 points per game.