The San Diego Chargers overcame injuries to both QB Phillip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson to beat the defending Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts. The Chargers limited their mistakes and took advantage of Indianapolis turnovers to seal the win. Sportsbook.com had San Diego as +460 underdog before kickoff giving Chargers backers a nice pay day. Before going out injured late in the fourth quarter Charger QB Philip Rivers completed 14 of 19 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns. But it was backup Billy Volek who sealed the victory leading the Chargers on a game winning drive in relief of Rivers. Volek completed 3 of 4 for 38 yards. With Tomlinson hurt much of the running fell on the shoulders of Michael Turner and he responded with 71 yards on 17 carriers. The Colts came in with the #1 scoring defense but just couldn’t seem to get the big play when it counted.
The Colts did have a shot as they got the ball with 1:30 left in the game but couldn’t move the ball into scoring position. Manning threw for a huge 402 yards but seemed to struggle when it counted most. He finished the game completing 33 of 48 with three touchdowns but did throw 2 interceptions. WR Marvin Harrison did try to give it a go but was ineffective and didn’t play in the second half. In fact, Indianapolis was driving to go up by 14 and gain control of the game when he fumbled in San Diego territory. Harrison caught only 2 balls for 27 yards. The running fame failed to keep the heat off of Manning as RB Joseph Addai rushed for only 43 yards on 13 carries.
As a result of today’s win the Chargers get the chance to take on the undefeated New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. They will attempt to return the favor as last year New England went into Charger territory and knocked them out of the playoffs when they were the #1 seed.
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