DENVER — Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders took a bow in the end zone after each of his touchdown catches. Quarterback Peyton Manning provided the encore performance.

Manning threw for three touchdowns, all to Sanders, and the Denver Broncos pulled away to beat the San Diego Chargers 35-21 Thursday night.

Manning, who became the NFL’s career leader in touchdown passes Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers, added to the mark with scoring passes of 2, 31, and 3 yards to Sanders.

“We understand in this offense it can be anyone’s night at any moment,” said Sanders, a free agent acquisition from the Pittsburgh Steelers who recorded multiple touchdown catches in a game for the first time in his career. “I’m just happy tonight was my night.”

He shared it with Manning, who finished 25 of 35 for 286 yards. Sanders finished with nine catches for 120 yards, while wide receiver Demaryius Thomas had eight catches for 105 yards for his team-record fourth 100-yard game in a row.

“We’re trying to get everybody involved,” Manning said. “Certainly, sometimes it’s going to be one guy’s night over another. But all of them played well, and of course Emmanuel was great down there around the end zone.”

Denver (6-1) earned its fourth win in a row since an overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 21. San Diego (5-3) lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.

“They played their tails off. They were fighting,” Chargers coach Mike McCoy said of his players. “But we didn’t make enough plays, and that’s what it comes down to.”

Up by seven at the half, the Broncos stretched their lead to 28-7 in the third quarter on Sanders’ third touchdown catch of the night and running back Juwan Thompson’s 2-yard scoring run.

Cornerback Chris Harris’ interception of a pass from Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers led to Sanders’ 3-yard touchdown early in the period.

“It was definitely a momentum-changer,” Broncos safety T.J. Ward said of Harris’ interception. “They were looking to strike fast and get the momentum back, and we snatched it right from them. It was a great play by Chris.”

A pass-interference penalty against San Diego cornerback Richard Marshall got the Broncos inside the Chargers’ 10-yard line, and Thompson scored the first of his two touchdowns two plays later.

After Rivers’ fourth-down, 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Antonio Gates pulled the Chargers within 28-14 with 2:39 remaining in the third, Denver responded with a second-chance touchdown.

San Diego safety Eric Weddle picked off a pass by Manning in the end zone, but the play was negated by a defensive-holding call on fellow safety Marcus Gilchrist. Denver, on a first-and-goal from the 1, scored on the next play on a burst by Thompson for a 35-14 lead with 13:29 left to play.

Rivers, who finished 30 of 41 for 252 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, later hooked up with Gates from 10 yards out to get one score back. However, Denver quashed the comeback when safety Rahim Moore intercepted Rivers in the late going.

“It just goes back to the old adage, you give a good team tons of opportunities and you make certain mistakes, it’s hard to overcome,” Weddle said. “We had a team effort and didn’t quit. We just didn’t play good. They’re better than us right now, and that’s the reality of it.”

What the Broncos said:

“We’ve just been grinding. We’re just trying to keep our heads down and just keep working. That is what’s been working for us — going out there and taking it one snap at a time. If they get a first down, we come back, we play harder. We’re really starting to jell.” — Linebacker Von Miller, on the Broncos’ under-the-radar defense.

What the Chargers said:

“A little bit of a bump in the road. I think now the true test — the true character of our team — will definitely show. I got all the confidence in the world in the guys I fight with every single Sunday. Obviously, the coaching staff is tremendous. They put together a phenomenal plan every week. We just came up short today.” — Tight end Antonio Gates.

What we learned about the Broncos:

1. The Broncos may have the most explosive corps of receivers in the game, with seemingly every member capable of a breakout game. This time, it was wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who had three touchdown catches among his nine receptions for 120 yards. Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas topped 100 receiving yards for the fourth game in a row. Wide receiver Wes Welker and tight end Julius Thomas also have the capability to make game-changing plays.

2. Linebacker Von Miller is back to his 2012 form, when he set a single-season team record with 18.5 sacks. Miller, who sustained a season-ending knee injury late last year, has come back strong this season. He has a league-leading nine sacks, and at least one in six consecutive games, the longest active streak in the league.

–RB Ronnie Hillman is giving the Broncos’ rushing attack a boost in the absence of Montee Ball (groin). Hillman gained 109 yards on 20 carries, and he had a 33-yard touchdown run negated by a holding call. He also is proving to be a capable receiver, giving the offense a chance to gain additional yards after the catch.

–WR Emmanuel Sanders stole the show with three touchdown catches, but fellow WR Demaryius Thomas extended his remarkably productive run. Thomas had eight catches for 105 yards. It was the fourth game in a row in which he exceeded 100 yards, a team record.

–LB Von Miller had one of the Broncos’ two sacks, extending his sack streak to six games. It is the longest active streak in the NFL. Miller has nine sacks on the season, tops in the league.

What we learned about the Chargers:

1. Against the receiver-laden Denver offense, the Chargers missed their top cornerback Brandon Flowers, who was among the team’s inactive players because of a concussion. Peyton Manning finished with a 124.2 passer rating against the Chargers’ depleted secondary, the highest rating this season by an opposing quarterback against San Diego’s defense.

2. The Chargers’ rushing attack remained productive in the absence of injured running back Ryan Mathews until being bottled up by the Broncos’ defense. Quarterback Philip Rivers delivered a 17-yard scramble, and running back Branden Oliver had a 23-yard run. The Chargers’ other 13 carries produced a total of 21 yards.

–TE Antonio Gates had five catches for 54 yards and two touchdowns, pushing his career receiving-yards total to 9,610, enough o overtake Lance Alworth as the team’s career leader. Alworth had 9,584 yards while playing for San Diego from 1962-70. “Obviously, it speaks volumes about my path since the day I set foot in the organization,” Gates said. “But I think the understatement is everyone who helped me get to this point.”

–Rookie RB Branden Oliver, who had successive 100-yard rushing performances heading into Thursday’s game, was limited to 36 yards on 13 carries by the Denver defense. Part of the problem of was San Diego was playing from behind for much of the night, giving the Chargers fewer opportunities to run the ball.

–K Nick Novak did not attempt a field goal Thursday. His streak of making 31 field goals in a row remains intact.