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Week 18 Game Recap: Indianapolis Colts 17, San Diego Chargers 23
What you need to know
| Indianapolis Colts |
QB Peyton Manning had a big yardage total, but it took him 42 passes to get there. His only touchdown was unusual on a headsup play where he caught the Chargers defense off guard. He was nearly intercepted on several occasions and he also took a very untimely sack towards the end of the game on a pass play that was a very questionable play call from the coaches.
RBs Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes did little to take any pressure off of Peyton Manning. The two combined for just 56 yards on 20 carries, with a long run of just 11.
WR Anthony Gonzalez dominated in the first half, with six receptions for 97 yards. Unfortunately for him, those were his only catches in the game as he was shut out in the second half.
The numbers for WR Reggie Wayne look very good, but he padded those greatly with a 72 yard touchdown bomb on a play when nobody was covering him. The stats still count, of course, but it was far from a typical play. Without it, he had just three receptions for 57 yards.
| San Diego Chargers |
RB Darren Sproles was the catalyst for the offense, scoring twice on a career high 23 carries. He had 150 yards from scrimmage and 328 all-purpose yards (the third-highest postseason total ever). With starting RB LaDainian Tomlinson hobbled, Sproles, a free agent after the season, really picked up the slack and carried the team to victory. Tomlinson, nursing a groin injury suffered last Sunday, started the game and even scored a touchdown on one of his five carries, but he was forced from the action early in the second quarter.
QB Philip Rivers didn't put up gaudy numbers and had a costly turnover on a deep ball in the end zone. But he didn't let the pick get to him and he settled down to lead the Chargers on both the game tying score late in the fourth quarter and the game winning score in overtime.
TE Antonio Gates was questionable to play with a sprained ankle. Not only did he play, but he had a game high eight receptions and totaled 87 yards (including a couple of key receptions on the game tying field goal drive).
Not typically a space reserved for punters, P Mike Scifres deserves a mention as he had a game for the ages. His six punts averaged 52.7 yards with a net average of 51.7. Even more impressively, his six punts went to the Indianapolis 10, 15, 3, 5, 9, and 1 yard lines. His ability to set the Colts up with poor field position was as big a reason as any that the Chargers prevailed.
What you ought to know
| QB Peyton Manning, Pass: 25 - 42 - 310 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
Despite his offensive line giving him loads of time to throw for most of the first half, Manning was unable to take advantage of what had previously been a very porous San Diego defense. He didn't look very sharp at times, overthrowing a wide open Reggie Wayne early in the first quarter and nearly getting intercepted on three different occasions later on. He threw two balls that not only should have been intercepted, but also run back for touchdowns (one by Eric Weddle and one by Steve Gregory). In the second half, the Chargers did a better job of making Manning move his feet. On a fourth down pass, DE Luis Castillo flushed Manning from the pocket and forced an incomplete pass. Later, both Gregory and Antonio Cromartie had their hands on near-interceptions. At other times, Manning put the ball into incredibly tight spots with pinpoint accuracy.
Even Manning's lone touchdown pass was a product of a busted play defensively. Manning made a headsup up play as he caught the Chargers during a substitution and rushed the Colts up to the line for a no huddle formation. They didn't catch them on the substitution, but even better than that they caught CB Antonio Cromartie not paying attention. WR Reggie Wayne ran right by him and Manning lofted a perfect lob for the 72 yard touchdown pass.
By far, the costliest play turned in by Manning came on a third and two pass play late in regulation. All the Colts needed to do was pick up those two yards and the game would be over, needing just a handful of kneeldowns by Manning to make it official. For some reason, the Colts opted to throw the ball but left no one in the backfield to pick up the blitz. LB Tim Dobbins came flying in off the corner, and Manning (in a very un-Manning-like way) never saw the blitzer coming. He double-pumped his pass, and by then Dobbins was all over him for the sack. The Colts punted on the next play, and the Chargers tied the game with a field goal on that same possession.
| RB Joseph Addai, Rush: 16 - 44 - 1, Rec: 4 - 28 - 0 (5 targets) |
Addai got 16 carries in the game, but only two of any significance. He had an 11 yard run on a third down and long play, and he took one up the middle for a yard on a draw at the goal line. Aside from those two rushes, his other 14 carries totaled just 33 yards. Even with those two carries, he still averaged less than 2.8 yards per carry. And on his touchdown run, he didn't have to do much as the blocking was perfect. He had a chance to essentially end the game late in the fourth quarter, but came up short. The Colts needed just one first down to run out the clock, and a six yard rush by Addai on first down gave the Colts a second and four. But Addai was hit after just a two yard gain on second down, Peyton Manning was sacked on third down, and the Colts never threatened seriously again.
| RB Dominic Rhodes, Rush: 4 - 12 - 0 |
Rhodes was sort of the forgotten man in the offense. He had just four offensive touches, and the Colts really got away from the running game very early on. They more or less used the short passing game as a sort of running game because the Chargers did a very good job of shutting down any sort of rushing attack. The only time Indianapolis got near the end zone, it was Joseph Addai who took the handoff and not Rhodes. Rhodes' key contribution was converting a short yardage run of third and two in the fourth quarter, but it was his only significant work of the day.
| WR Anthony Gonzalez, Rec: 6 - 97 - 0 (8 targets) |
It was a tale of two halves for Gonzalez, who registered all six of his receptions and 97 yards prior to halftime. On one play in particular, he made a terrific fingertip grab along the sideline and on more than one occasion he seemed able to easily shake loose of his defender to find the open space. But in the second half, the Chargers clamped down on him. Not only did he fail to catch a pass, but he was only thrown to once -- and he dropped the ball. He had earlier dropped a pass in the second quarter, so he dropped each of his last two passing targets.
| WR Reggie Wayne, Rec: 4 - 129 - 1 (10 targets) |
Wayne's stats suggest that he had a very good game. Stat wise, he did have a good game. But realistically, he had one big play that was unusual. And the rest of his performance was lacking. Near the end of the third quarter, Peyton Manning set up a no-huddle offense to try and catch the Charger defenders napping. CB Antonio Cromartie, in particular, was definitely napping as Manning snapped the ball. Wayne ran right by Cromartie, who wasn't even looking at the play, and Manning lofted a deep ball to the wideout for a 72 yard touchdown reception. It was one of the easiest touchdowns Wayne will ever have, though it was a bit of a fluke that it worked so well.
Aside from that one big catch, Wayne didn't do much (three receptions, 57 yards). He disappeared for long stretches (just one passing target the entire fourth quarter, for example). He did have an opportunity to better his totals, but Manning overthrew him on a deep ball early in the first quarter when Wayne was wide open. Wayne also juggled a pass along the sideline that eventually was ruled an incompletion, though it was challenged and the replays looked close.
| WR Marvin Harrison, Rec: 3 - 20 - 0 (5 targets) |
Harrison drew a long pass interference penalty early in the first quarter, but after that he was nearly invisible. He caught just three passes for 20 yards with a long of just nine.
| TE Dallas Clark, Rush: 1 - 9 - 0, Rec: 7 - 33 - 0 (10 targets) |
Interestingly, despite so many tight ends having huge games against the Chargers this season, Clark has played two games against them and hasn't put up eye-popping statistics. He did catch a team high seven passes in this game, but they went for just 33 yards and his long gain was just nine. In fact, Clark's longest run of the game equaled the distance of his longest reception, as he took a reverse up the left side for a nine yard gain early in the second quarter.
| PK Adam Vinatieri 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
Vinatieri was perfect on his only field goal attempt of the game, a 43 yarder in the second quarter.
| IND Rush Defense |
A lot of people finally saw the reason why the Colts allowed a league record low six touchdown passes all season; it's because there's no reason to throw on them when it's so easy to run instead. Indianapolis allowed the Chargers 167 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and they couldn't really stop anyone regardless of who was doing the running. Even slow-footed QB Philip Rivers got in on the act with a career best 12 yard run. LaDainian Tomlinson, nursing a possible groin tear, picked up 25 yards on his five carries including a touchdown, before giving way to Darren Sproles. All Sproles did was move in, around, and through would-be tacklers on his way to a 105 yard performance on 23 carries. Even the forgotten man Michael Bennett got in on the action with 24 yards on his four carries.
The only time the Colts rose up to make a big play was when they forced a Sproles fumble right at the doorstep of the end zone. It was a key play at the time, but there was nothing to bolster that play either before or after it at any point in the game.
The design and execution by San Diego on each of the touchdowns was top-notch, as Tomlinson waltzed in untouched and Sproles basically ran over S Antoine Bethea on his first score. And of course, the run defense had the ultimate indignity of being scored on in overtime for the loss. Sproles took a simple handoff, darted to the outside, turned the corner and headed upfield for the goal line. Bethea gave a halfhearted effort at best to make the tackle, and Sproles juked past him for the game winner.
| IND Pass Defense |
By the end of the game, it was obvious that the Indianapolis defense was tired in all aspects. They were having trouble stopping Darren Sproles on the ground, and they were having trouble containing Sproles and TE Antonio Gates through the air. The tackling was a bit shoddy, and they even allowed Michael Bennett to lunge ahead to pick up a first down on a screen pass late in the fourth quarter. They got a lot of pressure on Philip Rivers early in the first half, but couldn't maintain it throughout the game. They did get to him for a sack on a couple of occasions, but it wasn't a consistent pass rush and did little to disrupt San Diego's timing. In fact, Rivers found check-down options to move the chains both on the game tying and game winning drives. The fact that he was able to check it down suggests that he had enough time to do so, which suggests the Colts weren't posing much of a threat to get to him.
S Antoine Bethea, who otherwise had a forgettable game, came up with a turnover in the fourth quarter when he intercepted a deep ball from Philip Rivers in the end zone. For a short time, it looked like that was going to be a key play in the game. But the Chargers marched downfield two possessions later for the game tying field goal and again in overtime for the game winning score.
CB Tim Jennings made one of the costliest plays of the entire game when he was whistled for a holding penalty on WR Chris Chambers on the game-winning overtime drive. The Chargers faced a third down and eight from the Indianapolis 40 yard line -- probably outside of field goal range. Rivers lofted a pass to Chambers, but Jennings held his jersey twice and may have even interfered with him on the play. It gave San Diego an automatic first down, and they went on to win the game two plays later.
| QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 20 - 36 - 217 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 13 - 0 |
Rivers didn't play exceptionally well or anything, but his final statistics are somewhat misleading. He completed just 20 of 36 passes, but at least eight of those passes were throwaways where the play wasn't developing properly -- at least six of them came on screens that failed to set up and Rivers simply threw the ball into the ground. That's not to say he was putting the ball wherever he want, mind you. The issues started early in the game when he missed a wide open Brandon Manumaleuna down the sideline on an overthrown ball. It continued well into halftime, and a lot of it had to do with the pressure on him from the Indianapolis defense. Every time he looked up to throw the ball downfield, he pulled it back either because a pass rusher was getting close or because the coverage was tight. In fact, he was having trouble getting the ball to anyone except TE Antonio Gates, who was the only Charger with a reception until about the five minute mark of the second quarter. The second half was more of the same, as Rivers overthrew WR Chris Chambers in the end zone for what should have been a touchdown. If the ball was more to the corner of the field, it likely would have been. As it was, it was an easy interception for S Antoine Bethea playing centerfield on the play. Later, he was nearly intercepted on the sideline by throwing an ill-advised pass to WR Vincent Jackson on a rollout.
Yet despite all of the problems Rivers faced, he still made several key plays that had a positive impact on the outcome. He showed excellent strength on one play in particular late in the third quarter. Facing a constant pass rush, Rivers had his arm hit by a defensive lineman but he never flinched. Most quarterbacks likely would have fumbled in that situation. Later in the quarter, he used amazing precision to thread a bullet pass to WR Legedu Naanee on a slant. And in the fourth quarter, with the team facing a third down and 15, he scrambled and dove at the first down marker for a 14 yard gain. On fourth and one, he ran a sneak up the middle to pick up the first down. While that possession eventually led to the interception, he didn't let it rattle him. When the Chargers got the ball back down by three and a chance to tie, Rivers completed two passes to TE Antonio Gates to set up the game-tying field goal. And in the overtime session, he was 2-4 for 21 yards to help put the team into scoring range.
| RB Darren Sproles, Rush: 22 - 105 - 2, Rec: 5 - 45 - 0 (6 targets) |
Starting RB LaDainian Tomlinson tried to give it a go in the game, and he lasted for five carries before his groin injury became too painful to continue running on. So Sproles took over the majority of the rushing duties and sure made the most of the opportunity. The diminutive runner was involved in most of the most crucial plays of the game, including the obvious one -- a game-winning 22 yard touchdown run in overtime that sent the Chargers to the second round of the playoffs. Sproles, who will be a free agent after the season, likely saw his stock rise considerably with this performance. He carried the ball 23 times, caught five passes, and returned all of the kicks and punts. When all was said and done, he had finished with the third-best total of all-purpose yards in NFL postseason history, with 328.
He picked up yards every way imaginable. He took a third and nine draw up the middle for a first down near the end of the first quarter. He fought his way into the end zone on an inside run late in the first half for his first touchdown. Sproles also made two huge plays late in the contest that didn't go for big yardage but were key to victory all the same. Facing a third down and ten, he took a draw up the middle and very nearly picked up the first down. He was a bit short, but he helped turn what would have been a 34 yard field goal attempt into a 26 yard chip shot. And in the overtime session, San Diego faced a third down and eleven situation from their own 24 yard line. QB Philip Rivers found Sproles for a dumpoff in the flat, and the back did the rest of the work, surging ahead for a 13 yard gain to extend the drive. That drive would eventually lead to the game-winning touchdown run by Sproles. He took a handoff to the left side, cut back against the defense, and raced to the end zone. The only thing between Sproles and a San Diego victory was DB Antoine Bethea, but Sproles made quick work of him with a lightning fast cutback at the five yard line.
The only negative part of his evening was a fumble that he coughed up right at the doorstep of the goal line as San Diego was driving to take the lead late in the third quarter. But the overtime touchdown more than made up for that, and certainly helped make Sproles a very attractive commodity on this spring's upcoming free agent market.
| RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 5 - 25 - 1 |
Tomlinson injured his groin in last Sunday's victory over Denver. He was questionable to play all week long and finally decided on Saturday afternoon that he was healthy enough to start. He played all of the first quarter, and his first rush of the day went for 13 yards. But Tomlinson was clearly tentative as he turned the corner, and when he tried to make a cut he immediately fell to the turf. He remained in the game long enough to score a touchdown from three yards out, but that was his final carry of the evening. He gave way to backups Darren Sproles and Michael Bennett, both of whom played a critical role in the outcome. And for those who keep track of such things, unlike last year, when Tomlinson was forced from the AFC Championship game against New England and sat on the sidelines the entire game, in this game he looked very upbeat in cheering on his teammates and kept his helmet off.
| RB Michael Bennett, Rush: 4 - 24 - 0, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets) |
Of all the players on the roster, not many people expected that Michael Bennett of all people would be involved in some of the most crucial action of the season. With starting halfback LaDainian Tomlinson hobbled, it was up to Darren Sproles and Bennett to pick up the slack. Sproles more than did his part with 150 yards from scrimmage and a pair of touchdowns. Bennett, too, did an admirable job with 24 rushing yards on four carries and another seven yards on his lone reception -- a play that came on third and seven and barely picked up the first down. Bennett fought through two tacklers and dove at the first down marker, picking up the first down by the absolute edge of the football.
| RB Jacob Hester, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (2 targets) |
Hester was thrown to twice, catching one of them for a six yard gain in the second quarter. But despite LaDainian Tomlinson's early exit from the game, it was Darren Sproles who saw the lion's share of the carries. And the scraps that remained went to Michael Bennett, not Hester. Hester's role in this game was primarily that of a blocker, a role he played exceptionally well -- particularly on the Tomlinson touchdown.
| WR Chris Chambers, Rec: 4 - 57 - 0 (7 targets) |
With fellow WR Vincent Jackson blanketed for most of the evening, it was on Chambers to try to make up the difference. He made a phenomenal diving grab along the sideline in the second quarter, a catch that may or may not have actually been a reception. Replays seemed to show that he never got his second foot down inbounds, but the Colts had just lost a challenge on the previous play and were reluctant to lose their second challenge to early in the game. Chambers had a decent chance to score in the fourth quarter when he beat his man on a deep ball, but QB Philip Rivers slightly overthrew the pass and it was intercepted in the end zone.
| WR Vincent Jackson (1 targets) |
Jackson saw just one pass head in his direction, and it was nearly intercepted by the Colts. He was open on a couple of occasions, but QB Philip Rivers often didn't have enough time to look for him downfield. As a result, Jackson finished without a reception.
| TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 8 - 87 - 0 (9 targets) |
Gates started off the game on fire, with five receptions prior to halftime (he was, in fact, the only San Diego player with a reception until the 6:04 mark of the second quarter). On one of his early receptions in the second quarter, he was headed for the end zone with nothing but room in front of him. But with defenders gaining ground, he turned to try and fight them off rather than continuing to run straight ahead. If he had kept on running, he may have scored. But turning around to stiff arm the defense slowed him down considerably, and he ended up being tackled at the three yard line. Then just as quickly as he showed up, he just about disappeared from the action. The Chargers suddenly took to the ground, utilizing undersized RB Darren Sproles in a number of ways. Gates didn't have another reception until the final drive of the fourth quarter, when he turned in back to back eleven yard receptions to help get San Diego into field goal range for the tying kick. In overtime, Gates caught a short pass and turned upfield to pick up eight hard-fought yards on a second and eight play. He actually fumbled the ball while trying to pick up extra yardage, but fortunately for him he landed right on it and pinned the ball to the turf with his back. He finished with a game high eight receptions.
| PK Nate Kaeding 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
Kaeding, who has a history of important missed field goals in the playoffs, connected from 26 yards out with :33 left in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime. He wasn't needed in the overtime session, as RB Darren Sproles scored a touchdown to win it.
| SD Rush Defense |
The San Diego rush defense did a fantastic job of turning the Colts very one dimensional. Despite the fact that Indianapolis led for the majority of the contest, they ran the ball just 22 times versus 42 pass attempts. That imbalance was created in part because the Chargers were allowing the Colts almost nothing on the ground. The longest run by a Colt all game long was just 11 yards, with TE Dallas Clark chipping in with a nine yard run on a reverse early in the second quarter. Aside from those two runs and an Addai touchdown run on which he wasn't touched until he was two yards into the end zone, the Chargers gave up nothing. Facing a situation late in the fourth quarter where a first down would have ended the game, the San Diego run defense rose up and stopped Addai short on a second and four run. They allowed him two yards, but he was stopped short enough that the Colts opted to pass on third down. Peyton Manning was sacked on the play; the Chargers got the ball back and drove downfield to tie it, and then won it in overtime.
| SD Pass Defense |
Most people will want to give all the credit for this victory to RB Darren Sproles or even P Mike Scifres, but in truth it was the defense that rose up to make the single biggest play of the evening and save the Chargers from certain defeat. The Colts had the ball at their own nine yard line and faced a third down and two with 2:30 remaining in the game. The Chargers were out of timeouts, so if the Colts picked up another first down, the game would be essentially over and all the Colts would need to do is kneel out the clock. But LB Tim Dobbins came crashing into the picture from Peyton Manning's right side and sacked him for an eight yard loss. The Colts obviously then had to punt the ball away. The Chargers took the ensuing possession downfield and tied the game with a field goal, and then won it in overtime. In addition to the Dobbins play, the Chargers made a number of key plays in the game on defense. This defense under Ron Rivera is clearly not the one we saw earlier in the season under Ted Cotrell.
While they still had trouble getting intense pressure on Manning early on, they at least flushed him from the pocket on a couple of occasions. Several defensive backs jumped routes on a number of passes to deflect the ball away, though curiously they all experienced stone hands at the same time and couldn't hang onto them for interceptions. Steve Gregory, Eric Weddle, and Antonio Cromartie were all guilty of this at one point or another. Cromartie is possibly the happiest person on the team that San Diego was able to win, because if they didn't he likely would have been remembered as the goat. Manning noticed that the Chargers were subbing new players in, so he opted to run a no-huddle play to try and catch San Diego off-guard. And did he ever catch them. WR Reggie Wayne streaked downfield and ran right by Cromartie, who was essentially asleep at the wheel as he looked towards the San Diego sideline. By the time he realized the ball had been snapped, Wayne was racing past him and Manning had already hoisted what would become a 72 yard touchdown bomb. Cromartie futilely tried running after him, but to no avail. If not for that one freak play, Manning would have had just 238 yards and zero touchdowns for the game, a testament to just how well San Diego defended him.
LB Shaun Phillips was being looked at on the sidelines near the end of the fourth quarter, but no update was given on his condition. LB Jyles Tucker was also injured late in the fourth quarter and walked slowly off the field after suffering an apparent head injury.
