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Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

I am traveling from San Diego after covering Denver’s big 34-23 win over the Chargers in a wild Monday night game.

I will check back in later Tuesday with news and analysis from around the division.

	AP Photo/Denis Poroy
	Elvis Dumervil had two of Denver's five sacks of Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- Kyle Orton walked into the small but satisfied visitor’s locker room at Qualcomm Stadium following his press conference to talk about Denver’s 34-23 statement game against the San Diego Chargers and said “6-0, baby, 6-0,” to no one in particular.

The Broncos are unbeaten and unabashed. They’ve taken the NFL by storm and they are making sure everyone knows about it.

Related Coverage • Recap: Royal's returns lift 6-0 Broncos • Video: Breaking down the Broncos' win • AFC West blog: Complete coverage • Monday Night HQ

The Broncos gave the Chargers the Muhammad Ali treatment. They punched the Chargers out and then they told them about it. Again in true Ali form, the talking started before the beatdowns.

“There’s a new persona about this team,” said four-year Denver veteran tight end Tony Scheffler, who had to be held back from San Diego linebacker Shaun Phillips in the waning seconds of the game. “We feel good about ourselves and we’re going to have fun out there. We aren’t going to be pushed around.”

Denver let that be known when nearly the entire team huddled near the Chargers during pregame warm-ups. A large scrum formed with some pushing and shoving. Officials had to break it up.

Think Miami-Florida State in the golden era of that rivalry.

After the game, the victorious Broncos, who pulled a similar stunt at Oakland in Week 3, were laughing about the dust-up. The Chargers were not.

“That was disrespectful,” said San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman, who was pushing back players from both teams in the middle of the melee. “But we get to see them again. They didn’t have a cakewalk here … We’ll see them again.”

When the Chargers visit Denver in November, they must do a better job in the second half. Denver is undefeated on the strength of its incredible play after halftime.

	Donald Miralle/Getty Images
	Denver quarterback Kyle Orton was 11-for-15 for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.

The Chargers led 20-17 after a wild first half. But Denver outscored San Diego 17-3 the rest of the way and sealed the victory with its usual array of timely plays on both sides of the ball.

Denver has outscored opponents 76-10 in the second half this season.

“The coaches see what we don’t do right in the first half and we fix it in the second half,” Denver defensive tackle Ronald Fields said. “If that continues, we are going to be very hard to beat.”

Nearly every win by Denver this season has been spawned by a huge play in the second half. Monday night, it was a sack by linebacker Elvis Dumervil, who leads the NFL with 10 sacks. The Broncos recovered a Philip Rivers' fumble on the play and turned it into a field goal and a four-point lead. Denver added a touchdown later in the quarter after another huge defensive stop. One of four unbeaten teams, Denver has allowed an NFL-low 66 points. According to ESPN’s Stats & Information, Rivers was sacked four times on blitzes.

“We pride ourselves in making the big play when it counts,” Denver receiver Brandon Stokley said. “Good teams know how to do that.”

Some other keys to the game:

Chargers get the Royal treatment: Although Denver turned the game around in the second half, the team benefited greatly by two first-half returns for touchdowns by receiver Eddie Royal.

He had a 93-yard kickoff return for a score in the first quarter and a 71-yard punt return for a score in the second quarter. He is the sixth player since the merger in 1970 to have a kickoff and punt return for a score in the same game. He was the first Denver player to do it. For good measure, San Diego return ace Darren Sproles added a 77-yard punt return for a score. It was the first time since 1998 that there were three returns for touchdowns in a game.

“I’m just glad I could help,” Royal said. “The plays just opened up for us.”

Merriman said the two Royal returns were devastating for San Diego.

“We can’t have that,” Merriman said. “You can’t have two returns for scores. It would have been a totally different game if that didn’t happen.”

Orton keeps on keeping on: Like the Denver defense, folks are waiting for Orton to crack. But like his defense, Orton is playing near-perfect football, especially when the game counts.

Orton was 11-of-15 for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the second half Monday night. According to ESPN’s Stats & Information, his passer’s rating in the half was 143.3. He was brilliant in the second half and in overtime against New England in Week 5. Orton was 8-0f-12 on third down, compared to 3-of-7 for Rivers.

Orton, acquired in the Jay Cutler trade, is clearly thriving in Josh McDaniels’ system. He is both managing the game well and making clutch plays. So, the Orton-for-MVP talk is going to continue, at least for another week.

The Chargers aren’t dead yet, but they may be close: Although the focus is on Denver’s huge start, the Chargers’ third straight lousy start cannot be overlooked.

San Diego started 5-5 in 2007 and 4-8 last season before rallying to win the division both years. The Chargers aren’t panicking, but they are not pleased that they must try to come back from behind again.

“I’m sick of it,” Merriman said.

Still, the Chargers don’t have a brutal remaining schedule. Their next two games are at Kansas City and at home against Oakland.

The Chargers know they can turn their season around, but they have to play better, especially on defense. The Chargers couldn’t get off the field Monday night and they had very little pass rush.

“We've got to get better on defense,” Merriman said. “We have to get off the field. It starts there.”

If the Chargers don’t improve, don’t expect the boisterous Broncos to stop yapping.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- For the third straight week, the question will be asked. Are the Broncos legit?

Let’s just stop it.

The Broncos are for real, OK?

Denver continued the most remarkable story in the NFL by punching the host San Diego Chargers in the mouth when it had to Monday night, winning 34-23. The Broncos took control in the second half and showed the Chargers, heavy preseason favorites to win the AFC West for the fourth straight season, that 33-year-old coach Josh McDaniels and his crew mean business.

The Broncos are 6-0 and the Chargers are 2-3. Denver leads the AFC West by 3.5 games. No team has ever lead a division by 3.5 games and not advanced to the playoffs.

The Broncos won this game the way they have won their last two games against Dallas and New England: They dominated in the second half. The Broncos came back from a halftime deficit and outscored San Diego 17-3 in the third and fourth quarters. Denver has outscored its opponents 76-10 in the second half of games this season.

If that’s not for real, what is?

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- Denver’s defense just took over on San Diego’s 38. The Chargers went for it on fourth-and-8 with 5:45 to go, trailing 27-23.

Champ Bailey broke up a pass intended for Malcolm Floyd. Teams just need to stop throwing at Bailey. Ask Tony Romo how that usually works out.

Denver turned that big defensive play into a touchdown on a short pass from Kyle Orton to Brandon Stokley. The play was challenged by San Diego, but was upheld. The Chargers argued that Stokley was down at the 1.

Denver now leads 34-23 and with just over two minutes to go.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- The Chargers may need to put a long touchdown drive together here.

The Chargers stopped Denver at the San Diego 39 with eight minutes to go and the Broncos leading 27-23. It was a huge stop.

Now, San Diego has to do something with it if it doesn’t want to fall 3.5 games behind Denver.

Meanwhile, San Diego linebacker Kevin Burnett was taken off on a cart to the locker room with an ankle injury. Burnett has been very active and his loss would hurt the Chargers.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- Denver linebacker Elvis Dumervil just took the NFL lead in sacks with his ninth sack when he dropped San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers.

Rivers fumbled on the play and it was recovered by Denver defensive end Vonnie Holliday. Denver turned the fumble into a field goal and it leads 27-23 with 13:05 to go.

Dumervil has had a knack for the big play all season. If Denver wins, his ninth sack will loom large.

Dumervil was tied with Cincinnati’s Antwan Odom with eight. Odom was lost for the season Sunday with a torn Achilles tendon.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- Special teams have been on display in this game.

Denver’s Eddie Royal has scored touchdowns on a kickoff and a punt return and San Diego’s Darren Sproles has a punt return for a score.

San Diego kicker Nate Kaeding got in on the action with a 50-yard field goal in the third quarter to give San Diego a 23-17 lead. It’s the first second-half points Denver has allowed since Week 1.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- Denver got its injured defensive players back to start the second half.

Safety Brian Dawkins, defensive tackle Ronald Fields and linebacker Mario Haggan all returned to start the third quarter. Dawkins and Fields had hamstring problems and Haggan had a knee injury. All were announced as questionable to return.

Dawkins left the game early in the first quarter. Denver allowed 13 points on defense in the first half, which is the second most in the first half this season.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- Denver coach Josh McDaniels has shown before that he is an excellent second-half adjuster. He’ll need to do so again as San Diego leads 20-17 in what has been a fantastic game.

Denver has outscored opponents 59-7 in the second half this season. The 20 points are the most Denver has allowed all season. Denver allowed 10 points in the first quarter for the third straight game.

Denver left tackle Ryan Clady gave up a sack to San Diego rookie Larry English. Clady has allowed sacks in the past two games. He went his first 20 games without allowing a sack.

Denver’s defense is getting beat up. Linebacker Mario Haggan is out with a knee injury and he is questionable to return. Safety Brian Dawkins (hamstring) and defensive tackle Ronald Fields (hamstring) are also out and questionable to return.

If Dawkins remain out, expect San Diego to try to go to tight end Antonio Gates often. He was featured late in the second quarter.

Expect English to get fined for a horse-collar tackle late in the first half.

ESPN’s John Clayton is reporting that Kansas City traded defensive lineman Tank Tyler to Carolina for a fifth-round pick.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- You may not believe me, but that’s OK.

But this is what I was writing right before Darren Sproles busted his 77-yard punt return for a score:

Not a prediction, but I wouldn’t be surprised if San Diego return man Darren Sproles busts one in the second half. Sproles is as dangerous as any returner in the league and he doesn’t want to be overshadowed by Eddie Royal, who had a 93-yard kickoff return and a 71-yard punt return for a score.

It was for a halftime notes post. But the guy beat me to the punch.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -– Eddie Royal, welcome to "Monday Night Football" stardom.

Royal just thrust himself into the Monday night scrapbook with a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown.

In the first quarter, Royal -- an explosive receiver -- had a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

It has to be one of the best "Monday Night Football" performances ever by a special-teams player.

Royal made both plays with fantastic, defense-splitting, downhill running.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- We’re early in the second quarter with the game tied 10-10.

Some observations:

San Diego ran 21 offensive plays compared to Denver’s 5.

Denver nose tackle Ronald Fields is out with a hamstring injury. His return is questionable.

San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson is running well. He had 28 yards on seven carries.

The Chargers are not afraid to go after star Denver cornerback Champ Bailey. Philip Rivers is throwing at him.

The pregame bad blood carried over to the field. Rivers and Darrell Reid went at it verbally early in the game. Later, Denver receiver Brandon Marshall put his finger in the face of San Diego safety Steve Gregory.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- Denver star safety Brian Dawkins injured his hamstring on San Diego’s second offensive drive and his return is questionable, according to the team.

Rookie Darcel McBath is playing in Dawkins’ place.

Denver is being gashed in the passing game without its intimidating leader.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- What’s the best way for a road team to quiet the home crowd in a big game? Yep, a special teams touchdown.

Denver second-year receiver Eddie Royal shut up the San Diego crowd with a 93-yard touchdown on a kickoff. The Chargers had just scored a field goal.

Royal ripped right through San Diego’s coverage unit and bolted for the score. After Denver’s defense was beat up on the previous drive, this was a big play for Denver.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson

SAN DIEGO -- The Chargers are coming after the Broncos through the air.

The passing game has been San Diego’s bread and butter because of a weak running game -- the Chargers are ranked last in the NFL in rushing.

So far, so good for Air Turner. The Chargers’ took a 3-0 lead with 4:51 to go in the first quarter.

The Chargers converted four big pass plays on a drive that started at their 6-yard line.

San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers is s having a big year and the Chargers are clearly going to try to get back into the AFC West race on his arm.