NFL
Game Recap: San Diego 28, Indianapolis 24.
When you fall behind in hostile territory, it‘s unquestionably an uphill climb. But, when you lose two of your key players to injury, it could spell doom.
However, San Diego overcame both, and in the end, knocked off the reigning Super Bowl champion Colts to advance to next Sunday’s AFC Championship Game at New England.
The Colts took an early 7-0 lead, and when they started driving down the field on their next drive, it looked like it’d be all Indy. However, Marvin Harrison, making his return from injury, fumbled on his first and only catch of the game, negating a likely scoring opportunity, and giving the Chargers some valuable momentum.
They seized and tied the game up, and from there, the two teams battled it out, back and forth.
San Diego took leads of 14-10 and 21-17 in the second half, and each time, the Colts struck back to go ahead again. But, the Chargers struck the final blow, as Manning wasn‘t able to muster up one more touchdown drive in the final game at the RCA Dome.
Many Chargers fans might have panicked when LaDainian Tomlinson went out in the first half, and then when QB Philip Rivers joined him on the sidelines for the fourth quarter, both because of knee injuries. But, San Diego came out on top thanks to some unheralded backups who were stars for at least one afternoon.
Player(s) of the Game: Billy Volek and Darren Sproles - When Rivers and L.T. went out, San Diego could have just hung it up. But, instead, the fill-ins went and got the job done.
After the Colts took a 17-14 lead in the third quarter, the speedy Sproles took a short pass from Rivers and turned it into a 56-yard touchdown that made it 21-17 at the end of the quarter.
Then, after Indy hit back and took a 24-21 lead, Volek, who had come in for Rivers on the previous drive, led the Chargers 78 yards down the field, and put San Diego on top with five minutes to go on his 1-yard sneak.
The postseason breeds some unlikely and unexpected heroes, and Sproles and Volek certainly fit the bill.
Play of the Game: The Colts had taken a 24-21 lead on Anthony Gonzalez’s 55-yard touchdown catch with 10:07 left, and had forced San Diego into a 3rd and 4 from their 43 on the next drive. On that third down play, Marlon Jackson was called for a 15-yard face mask on an incompletion. That penalty kept the drive alive and put the ball in Indianapolis territory at the 42.
And, San Diego would make the Colts pay for it. On the next play, Volek hooked up with Legedu Naanee on a 27-yard play to put the Chargers at the 15, and after three Michael Turner runs, Volek got in for what proved to be the game-winning score.
Just as big, however, was Marvin Harrison’s early fumble when the Colts were driving and already up 7-0. Had they gone up 14-0, it might have been a totally different story.
Breaking Down the Outcome
Why the Chargers won: Resiliency. They got down early, and fought back to get ahead. Then, when Manning threw two touchdown passes in the second half, the Chargers had an answer both times. And when the defense needed to stand up and make a stop, they did, holding Indy after they’d driven to the 7, and then producing another stop on the Colts’ final chance on the next drive.
While they gave up a lot of yards to Manning, the Chargers defense had that ‘bend, don’t break’ mentality - four times the Colts got to the San Diego 35 or deeper, and Indy came up empty - fumble, interception, interception, turnover on downs.
Why the Colts lost: They had ample opportunities, but couldn’t convert for one reason or another. Plain and simple. Had they gotten even two field goals out of those four missed opportunities, they’d be game-planning for the Patriots right now, not planning their vacations.
Looking Ahead
Going into Indianapolis and winning is a great achievement.
But, if the Chargers can go into New England and knock off the 17-0 Patriots, it would be momentous, not only because they’d have thwarted New England’s quest for history, but they’d have done it with a couple of banged-up stars.
Tomlinson is expected to play, despite his left knee troubles, but there’s no telling how effective he’ll be. As for Rivers, his status is currently up in the air, because of the sprained MCL in his right knee. Tight end Antonio Gates is already hobbled due to a toe injury he picked up against Tennessee in the wild-card round, so Norv Turner does have more headaches than he’d like heading into the biggest game of his head coaching career
But, if Sunday is any indication, San Diego won’t let their hopes get consumed by any injury concerns. Guys like Volek and Sproles stepped up, and if needed, they can do it again.
For the dethroned champions, there’s a little uncertainty right now concerning the future of head coach Tony Dungy, who‘s expected to announce next week whether he‘ll return for another season or if he‘ll retire.
If Dungy does decide to retire, where do the Colts go from there? They certainly won’t have any shortage of options, that’s for sure.
Regardless of who’s guiding Indy next year, we can expect them to be locked and loaded for another run at a title, thanks to the plethora of talent they have at their disposal.
But, like 27 other teams, and three more soon, the Colts will have to wait until next year to pursue glory again.
For the Chargers, it’s time to conjure up some memories of Stan Humphries and Natrone Means, and to pack warmly, because it’s cross-country road trip time.
Related posts on The Red Zone Report
Check out this week's videocast w/ Mark Scott on the Coaches' Top 25 Poll!Find all of our 2008 NFL and College Football Previews in our Preview Section!
Go to the Front Page
Categories
Recent Posts
Discussion
No comments for “Game Recap: San Diego 28, Indianapolis 24.”
Post a comment