Broncos beat Chargers to make it to AFC finals

Peyton Manning welcomed Wes Welker back into the lineup with a touchdown toss as the Denver Broncos advanced to the American Football Conference championship game with a 24-17 win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

In the National Football Conference, Colin Kaepernick threw one touchdown pass and ran for another score as the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Carolina Panthers 23-10 to advance to the championship game for the third straight season.

The Broncos (14-3) controlled the game for 3 quarters before Philip Rivers capitalized on an injury to cornerback Chris Harris Jr. to stage a comeback reminiscent of Baltimore’s shocking win at Denver exactly a year earlier.

This time, however, Manning rescued the Broncos from the brink of another crushing collapse and sent them into the title game for the first time in eight seasons.

They’ll host the New England Patriots (13-4) on Sunday. Get ready for Brady vs. Manning once more.

In the most recent matchup of QBs with Hall of Fame credentials, Tom Brady and the Patriots rallied past Manning and the visiting Broncos 34-31 in overtime on Nov. 24.

“It’s the Broncos versus the Patriots and certainly Tom and I have played against each other a lot,” Manning said after beating San Diego. “But when you get to the AFC championship, it’s about two good teams that have been through a lot to get there.”

Manning, in the playoffs for a record 13 seasons as a quarterback, ended a personal three-game postseason skid in winning for the first time since leading Indianapolis over the Jets 30-17 in the AFC championship game on Jan. 24, 2010.

Manning completed 25 of 36 passes for 230 yards and two TDs, numbers that weren’t quite up to the standards he set during a record-breaking regular season when he established new benchmarks with 55 TD throws and 5,447 yards through the air.

Kaepernick completed 15 of 28 passes for 196 yards for the 49ers, avenging his worst statistical performance of the season two months ago against the Panthers.

Anquan Boldin had eight catches for 136 yards and Frank Gore ran for 84 yards on 17 carries for the 49ers (14-4), who’ll travel to Seattle next Sunday looking for a return trip to the Super Bowl. San Francisco split two games with the Seahawks this season.

The 49ers held Cam Newton in check, intercepting him twice and sacking him four times while stopping the Panthers (12-5) twice on a 1-yard line. AP