Though both teams left Sunday night’s game with identical records, the San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts are headed in opposite directions. The Colts have lost three of their last four games, with the one win coming against the lowly Bengals. Worse than losing is how the team has lost; through the poor play of their quarterback, leader and identity Peyton Manning. The Chargers on the other hand are soaring behind the superb play of their pivot, Philip Rivers, and their top-ranked defense. The prime time showing by both teams was exemplary of their recent play and possibly an omen for how the rest of the campaign will play out.
The Chargers began the season 2-5 and were being counted out by many in the AFC West, widely considered to be one of the league’s two worst divisions. The interesting thing about the Chargers was that they possessed both a top-5 defense and offense. Statistically, they should have been better. Four straight victories have proven that they are in fact better than their start suggested and have the same people who preemptively eliminated them from playoff contention recounting how Norv Turner’s Chargers always come on late in the season. Regardless of outside opinion, Rivers and his team are playing with great confidence, a belief that they own the West division and that they can play with anybody. The team now sits at the top of the West in the NFL standings. San Diego’s dynamic 3-4 defense has always given Peyton Manning fits, and Sunday was no different as they pulled down the quarterback’s pants on National TV. Using their creative pressure schemes to run Manning off the spot as he threw, the Chargers forced 4 interceptions out of the former league MVP, returning two for scores. Linebacker Shaun Phillips applied constant pressure from the edge while the Chargers’ large front three linemen got enough push from inside to prevent Manning from stepping up in the pocket. Kevin Burnett, an inside linebacker, had an outstanding game, coming up with 10 tackles, 2 for a loss and an interception returned for a touchdown. Rivers, though he did not put on his usual air show, was efficient, completing 19 of 23 passes to move the ball and support his defense. The performance was unspectacular but it did nothing to hurt the quarterback’s chances for the MVP award, which he is gunning for with his incredible statistics. Rivers is currently on pace to match Dan Marino’s single season passing yards record and he has done so without top receiver Vincent Jackson and his best target, tight end Antonio Gates, limited by injuries.
Manning was the first to blame himself after the game and though the pivot has made excellence routine throughout his career it is hard not to look at him when considering the Colts’ recent troubles. A week before the Chargers’ defense forced the All-pro into one of his worst games; Manning threw an inexcusable interception in field goal range to seal a defeat at the hands of the rival New England Patriots. Manning threw 9 interceptions in the month of November after throwing just two in September and October. Still, no one can truly fault Manning, a quarterbacking genius, when he is without several key players on offense. Tight end Dallas Clark, a safety blanket for Manning on third down, is out for the season. Receiver Austin Collie, who was coming on early in the season as a significant threat, has recently had difficulty with concussions. Perhaps most importantly, Joseph Addai, the team’s top running back has also been hurt, turning the Colts into an exclusively passing offense, making Manning’s reads more predictable. On defense the Colts are missing linebacker Gary Brackett and safety Bob Sanders, two of the unit’s three best players and leaders. The AFC South has proven to be as lowly as the West this season so the playoffs are definitely still in sight for the Colts, but a long playoff run seems at this point unlikely.
Sunday night’s game was promoted as a shootout between two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks but it quickly turned into an exhibition of strong defensive play, from one side. The Chargers’ defense is the ranked first in the league and Sunday night was a perfect chance for them to show a major audience that they are a legitimate contender. Against the league’s most revered pivot, the Chargers executed a brilliant game plan and allowed their athletes to make plays off the Colts’ errors. The result was two 6-5 teams travelling on different trains, living on the close ledge of victory and defeat, battling their way through the highs and lows of another NFL schedule.
