Game info: 8:00 pm EST Sat Jan 3, 2009TV: NBC
After struggling through the first two months of the season, the Indianapolis Colts regrouped to secure a seventh consecutive trip to the playoffs. The San Diego Chargers faced a bit more adversity en route to clinching their third straight postseason berth.
Indianapolis, winner of nine straight games, and San Diego, which has won four in a row, meet for the second consecutive year in the playoffs and for the second time this season on Saturday night in an AFC wild-card game.
Indianapolis (12-4) endured four defeats in its first seven contests this year, but closed out the regular season with nine straight wins, including 23-20 at AFC West champion San Diego (8-8) on Nov. 23. That victory came after the defending Super Bowl champion Colts were eliminated by the Chargers from last season’s playoffs with a 28-24 home loss in the divisional round.
The Chargers surged in the final month of the season, however, winning all four of their games to improve to 14-0 in December since 2006 and advance to the playoffs for the third year in a row. No NFL team had reached postseason play after starting 4-8.
The Chargers, who went 3-7 against teams outside the AFC West, became the first club since 1985 to win a division with a .500 record.
Manning has completed 72.1 percent of his passes while throwing 17 touchdowns and only three interceptions in the last nine games. The Colts finished fifth in the league with 255.9 passing yards per contest.
San Diego’s offense, directed by quarterback Philip Rivers, was 10th in the NFL with 358.4 yards per game. First in the league with a 105.5 passer rating, Rivers was fifth with 4,009 yards - seven more than Manning - and tied New Orleans’ Drew Brees for the most touchdown passes with a franchise-record 34.
Rivers now faces a Colts defense that’s allowed just six touchdown passes - the fewest ever by a team in a 16-game season. That unit, though, will be without linebacker and defensive captain Gary Brackett, who will miss his fifth straight game with a cracked bone in his lower right leg.
Tomlinson’s status depends on whether he can practice during the week. Including playoffs, he’s rushed for 345 yards and two touchdowns while catching 17 passes for 175 yards and a score in five appearances against the Colts.
The last three matchups between these teams have been decided by a combined nine points, with the Chargers winning twice. Manning went 32-for-44 for 255 yards and two TDs, while Rivers was 24-for-31 for 288 yards and two scores in November’s meeting, which Indianapolis won on an Adam Vinatieri 51-yard field goal as time expired.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Chargers’ receivers vs. the Colts’ secondary: Three of Philip Rivers’s favorite targets — Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd — are at least 6 feet 4 inches. They will enjoy a significant size advantage over the Colts’ defensive backs, who range in height from 5-8 to 6-1. Floyd, who is 6-5, sat out the Chargers’ regular-season finale against the Chargers with a collapsed lung but was expected to play Saturday, and as Coach Norv Turner noted this week, “He obviously can make plays that change games.” So can the Colts’ Melvin Bullitt, who accounted for 4 of his team’s 15 regular-season interceptions.
If the Chargers are going to win the Super Bowl, Jacob Hester has to play his best football through the playoffs.
When Tomlinson has success, Philip Rivers has success at the quarterback position. But like any running back, Tomlinson needs a good point of attack block to get him to and through that second level, the linebacker level to run the ball effectively.
As they prepare for a trip to San Diego for a wild-card playoff game Saturday night, the Colts' rushing offense has been more of an obstacle than a help in getting there, producing just 73.6 yards a game and 3.4 yards a carry compared to 106.6 and 3.8 in 2007.
Without Rivers, the Chargers aren't in the playoffs. Rivers isn't going to win the league MVP award simply because players on 8-8 teams don't get the consideration. But Rivers deserves that consideration.
Rivers set a team single-season record with 34 touchdown passes. He threw only 11 interceptions and led the NFL with a 105.5 quarterback rating. He was spectacular in December and was named the AFC offensive player of the month. Rivers was the prime reason the Chargers are the first team in NFL history to advance to the playoffs after starting 4-8.
In the December run, Rivers led San Diego to three blowout wins. He was most thrilling in the only thriller. In Week 15 in Kansas City, Rivers rallied San Diego from an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to a 22-21 victory. That victory gave San Diego the energy to catch Denver.
Many in San Diego are upset Rivers, the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2004, didn't get invited to the Pro Bowl. Indianapolis' Peyton Manning, Denver's Jay Cutler and New York's Brett Favre were the AFC's three quarterbacks selected to play in Hawaii in February. Rivers was the first alternate. With Favre injured, Rivers is likely to replace him.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/preview;_yl ... 0090103024
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009 ... -chargers/
http://www.tsn.ca/nfl/feature/?id=1090
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcsouth/0-7 ... treak.html
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcwest/0-3- ... yoffs.html
