Resilient Chargers Eliminate Colts
San Diego's Tomlinson, Rivers Injured but San Diego Upsets Indy
Reserves help Chargers defeat Peyton Manning, host Indianapolis to advance to AFC Championship game. San Diego's battered stars must return against unbeaten Patriots
San Diego lost its star running back in the second quarter and its starting quarterback in the third, yet the Chargers won the battle of attrition against the defending Super Bowl champions Saturday afternoon.
The 8-point underdog Chargers shocked Indianapolis, 28-24, in an AFC Divisional contest that featured five lead changes as the visitors left the raucous crowd stunned in the final game in the RCA Dome and added intrigue to whether Colts’ head coach Tony Dungy will return in 2008.
That set up a rematch of a Week Two contest at Foxboro against the New England Patriots, who thumped the Chargers, 38-14. However, that wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of Billy Volek and other San Diego reserves.
Volek replaced Chargers’ No. 1 quarterback Philip Rivers, who had gone into the locker room to have his right knee examined after connecting with Darren Sproles for a 56-yard play to put the visitors on top, 21-17, on the final play of the third quarter.
Colts signal caller Peyton Manning then hit Anthony Gonzalez, who tight-roped down the left sideline for a 55-yard score on a third-and-9 play as the hosts grabbed a 24-21 lead.
Volek, who had gone three-and-out on his first series behind center, completed a 15-yarder to Chris Chambers. A 15-yard facemask penalty on third down put San Diego at the Indy 42, and then Volek dumped a screen pass to Legedu Naanee for 27 yards. Three Turner runs moved the Chargers inches away and Volek bulled in on a sneak to help San Diego take a 28-24 advantage.
The Colts took over with 4:45 remaining, and Manning registered three straight first-down passes. Then Indy converted a fourth-and-5 from the San Diego 34. Manning hit tight end Dallas Clark and a facemask before the catch moved the ball to the 9. A run and two incompletions forced another fourth down at the 7 with 2:06 left. Shawne Merriman then forced Manning to a wild throw and the Chargers had held.
However, because the clock stopped with 2:01 remaining, the Colts basically received a fourth time stoppage because the Chargers gained only 7 yards and punted with 1:42 left. But Mike Scifres uncorked a 66-yard boot, setting the Colts up at their 32. Indy eventually faced a fourth-and-5 after Reggie Wayne was injured and lost the ball on downs again, sending the second-seeded Colts home with a 13-4 record.
Meanwhile, the Chargers dented the Indy defense repeatedly, including the third quarter as Rivers and wide receiver Vincent Jackson kept connecting and Michael Turner plugged away in Tomlinson’s absence. Rivers pump faked and hit a streaking Chris Chambers for a 30-yard score, which helped lift the visitors to a 14-10 margin.
Manning responded, driving the Colts to a third-and-3 from the Chargers’ 4. But his next toss deflected off the hands of Kenton Keith, who had replaced banged up starting halfback Joseph Addai two downs earlier, and Eric Weddle intercepted it one-handed at the San Diego 2.
The scorekeeper remained busy as Manning marched the hosts, aided by a crucial off-sides penalty against San Diego, 50 yards in five plays. He threw to Reggie Wayne, who made a nifty cut and dove at the pylon for a 9-yard score. That pushed Indy back on top in the see-saw contest at 17-14 after replay reversed the call that Wayne had stepped out of bounds at the 2.
Manning, like New England’s Tom Brady the day before, exuded patience, dinking and dunking the Colts down the field to loosen up San Diego’s defense while negating the Chargers’ pass rush much of the game.
He completed all six pass attempts, including a 25-yarder to Clark to open the scoring on a nine-play, 76-yard drive to make it 7-0. San Diego moved to the Indy 35, but Kelvin Hayden intercepted Rivers.
Manning completed his 11th straight attempt to open the game, this one to Marvin Harrison for 17 yards on a third-and-10 play from the Chargers’ 40. But Harrison, who had played only once since September 30, fumbled and prevented Indianapolis from potentially taking a 14-0 cushion and busting the contest open early.
Rivers connected with hobbled All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates on a 23-yarder to ignite a 78-yard scoring drive in which San Diego committed three penalties, wasted two timeouts and recovered LaDainian Tomlinson’s rare fumble at the Colts 9. Rivers hit Jackson for a 14-yard TD to help even things at 7, but the Chargers played without Tomlinson the rest of the way.
Manning completed three more attempts before Shaun Phillips almost picked him off around the San Diego 25. That helped stall the drive, and Adam Vinatieri booted a 47-yard field goal for a 10-7 advantage, the kicker’s first successful boot from beyond 40 yards this season.
Turner ripped off a 19-yard run as the visitors marched, but the Chargers settled for a 48-yard field goal attempt by Nate Kaeding, who clanked it off the right upright.
Despite Bob Sanders’ 14-yard unsportsmanlike penalty after the missed three-pointer, Manning drove the Colts to the San Diego 35 with 30 seconds left. He then threw high, the ball was tipped and Antonio Cromartie, the league’s top interceptor, pilfered the throw and zigzagged his way to a remarkable 89-yard TD. However, a questionable holding call nullified the return and preserved Indy’s 10-7 cushion.
Manning finished 18 of 22 for 203 yards in the first half and was 33 of 48 for 402 yards and three scores overall, but it wasn’t enough as the Chargers won for the third time in the teams’ last four meetings, two of them in Indy.
Philips ended up 14 of 19 for 264 yards with Jackson hauling in seven of them for 93 yards while Turner added 17 carries for 71 yards.
