Colts pass by Chargers

Sunday, Dec 26, 2004
By Nick Schenck, Chargers.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- While there were different opinions on who would win Sunday’s game between the Indianapolis Colts and Chargers, most people expected a high-scoring affair involving two of the NFL's top-four scoring offenses.

The predictions proved true, as the teams combined for 65 points, four more than their combined season averages. Unfortunately, the Chargers lost a late second-half lead, falling 34-31 in overtime in front of 57,330 fans at the RCA Dome. The Colts gained their eighth-straight win and the third seed in the AFC playoffs, while snapping the Bolts' eight-game win streak.

Both tight end Antonio Gates and quarterback Peyton Manning broke long-standing NFL records. Gates’ four-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was his 13^th of the season, giving him the NFL record for single-season touchdown catches by a tight end.

Manning, on the other hand, passed Dan Marino for the most single-season touchdown passes in NFL history. Manning's three-yard scoring pass to running back James Mungro in the third quarter tied Marino’s record, while wide receiver Brandon Stokley's 21-yard catch in the fourth quarter gave Manning 49 touchdown passes this year.

As well as Manning played, especially late in the game, Chargers Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer thought the contest came down to special teams play. The Chargers allowed running back Dominic Rhodes to return six kickoffs for 236 yards (39.3), including an 88-yarder for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that cut into the Bolts’ 15-point lead and swung the momentum in the Colts’ favor.

“The sad part about it is that we lost the battle of field position because we didn’t cover kickoffs worth a damn,” Schottenheimer said after the game. “That is what ultimately enabled the Colts to beat us today. That’s one of the things that makes (the loss) so disappointing.”

The Chargers silenced the Colts’ crowd early in the game. Indianapolis marched to the Bolts’ six-yard line on the 11^th play of their opening possession. With the crowd anticipating Manning’s record-tying touchdown pass, linebacker Donnie Edwards made his fifth interception of the season on the four-yard line.

With 4:59 left in the first quarter, quarterback Drew Brees passed to running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who outran the Colts’ defense for a 74-yard touchdown. Nate Kaeding’s extra point gave the Chargers a 7-0 lead.

Mike Vanderjagt put the Colts on the scoreboard with a 36-yard field goal five minutes later to make the score 7-3.

After wide receiver Tim Dwight’s 19-yard kickoff return, Brees passed to wide receiver Kassim Osgood for a 30-yard gain into Colts’ territory. Three plays later, Kaeding's 50-yard field goal put the Chargers back up by seven points.

On the Bolts’ following series, Brees found Parker three times for 40 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown completion with 7:09 left in the first half. The extra point stretched the Chargers’ lead to 17-3.

The Colts rebounded with a 60-yard kickoff return by Rhodes. Manning’s 17-yard pass to tight end Ben Hartsock gave Indianapolis a first down on the San Diego 14. The Colts had trouble executing in the red zone, though, which led to Vanderjagt’s 26-yard field goal with 4:33 remaining before halftime.

Less than two minutes later, Manning passed four times for 61 yards to give Indianapolis a first down inside the red zone. James rushed twice for nine yards before fumbling on third-and-1 from the five-yard line. Center Jeff Saturday recovered the ball for no gain, and Vanderjagt attempted his third field goal, which he made from 23 yards to cut the Colts’ deficit to 17-9 near halftime.

“We did a great job in the red zone,” Schottenheimer said after the game. “They were one-for-five in there. I talked at the meeting last night that it was going to come down to which team played better at or inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. Unfortunately, I did not factor in our inability to cover kickoffs.”

Gates scored his record-breaking touchdown on the Chargers’ first drive of the second half. Lined up as a fullback, Gates caught a four-yard shovel pass from Brees and rumbled into the end zone to give the Chargers a 24-9 lead. After the game, Gates was modest when asked about his touchdown record.

“Obviously, it was an individual accomplishment, and I’ve always been a team player,” Gates said. “I think it would’ve been better if we got the win today.”

Coaches often call the NFL a copycat league, and the Colts did nothing to dispel that notion on their ensuing drive when Manning threw a shovel pass to Mungro for the three-yard record-tying touchdown with 6:14 left in the third quarter.

Holding onto a 24-18 lead, the Chargers put together an 11-play, 71-yard scoring drive. Gates caught three passes for 15 yards, while Tomlinson rushed six times for 45 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown run. Kaeding’s extra point gave the Bolts a 31-16 advantage, but it didn’t last for long.

Rhodes returned Kaeding’s ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown to bring the crowd to its feet 18 seconds into the final period of play.

Martin Gramatica’s kickoff bounced out of bounds, and the Chargers started their ninth series from their 40-yard line. Brees moved the offense into Indianapolis territory on three completions for 27 yards, but defensive end Dwight Freeney forced Brees to fumble on third down from the 25-yard line. Offensive tackle Shane Olivea recovered it for a nine-yard loss, leading to a punt.

On the potential game-tying drive with 9:25 remaining in the game, Manning connected on four passes for 55 yards. Linebacker Steve Foley stopped the drive, though, when he sacked Manning for an eight-yard loss on third down. Vanderjagt tried to shorten the Chargers’ 31-23 lead, but his 47-yard field goal missed wide left.

After the Bolts punted on their second consecutive drive, the Colts were in a difficult position with a fourth-and-4 from their 26-yard line with 2:15 left in the game. The punt team walked on the field, but Manning waved them off. The decision paid off when wide receiver Reggie Wayne hauled in a 19-yard catch down the Bolts’ sideline. Three completions later, Manning broke Marino’s record on his pass to Stokley. James ran in for the two-point conversion to tie the score 31-31 with 56 seconds on the clock.

Although Manning etched his name into NFL history with his touchdown pass, Chargers players spoke more about the fourth-down play after the game.

“That was all No. 18,” Edwards said, referring to Manning leading the game-tying drive. “It seemed like he’s the one that told the coach, ‘No, we’re going for it.’ I saw him do that, and I was like, ‘Oh, wow. Talk about some (guts).’ Give him credit. It was a great throw, a great catch.”

On first down from the San Diego 27, Parker made an acrobatic 22-yard catch to midfield, but landed in bounds with less than 50 seconds on the clock. Brees almost used the Bolts’ last timeout, but opted to spike the ball, forcing him to wait for Parker to get back to the line of scrimmage. The Chargers spent a timeout anyways because Parker was injured.

“It was like a double whammy,” said Brees, who stopped the clock with 20 seconds remaining. “You look back on it and say, ‘Well, I wish we could’ve just called a timeout right away, or spiked it right away and run off the field.’ Everything that could’ve gone wrong in that situation did.”

After the timeout, Brees’ pass to Gates was intercepted by linebacker Rob Morris. An illegal block penalty on the interception return gave the Colts a first down on their 34-yard line, where Manning knelt down to bring the game into overtime.

Indianapolis received the opening kickoff and moved into San Diego territory on their second play from scrimmage when Manning and Stokley connected on a 23-yard pass play. Wayne caught a 35-yard pass the following down. After James rushed for no gain, Vanderjagt kicked the 30-yard game-winner.

Sidenotes and quotes

*The Chargers, 11-4, finish off their regular-season schedule next Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat the Oakland Raiders 31-30 on Saturday to improve their record to 7-8.

*Edwards recorded his team-high fifth interception of the season in the first quarter. It was also his fifth in the past five games. It ties his career-high for interceptions in a season. He had five during the 1999 season with the Chiefs as well as in his first season with the Bolts in 2002.

*In the past three games, Brees has thrown three touchdowns for more than 70 yards to three different receivers. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he found Parker for a career-long 79-yard touchdown pass. One week later, Gates caught a 72-yard touchdown pass at Cleveland. On Sunday, Brees found Tomlinson on a 74-yarder.

*Brees completed 21-of-31 passes for 290 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He didn’t throw an incompletion on four out of the Chargers’ five scoring drives. On three of those four, he completed each of his four pass attempts.

*After the game, Brees was asked about Manning's passing-touchdown record.

"I don’t think anybody really appreciates it until you’re standing behind center and you think about doing that," Brees said. "It’s unbelievable. After next week, he’s probably going to be up over 50. That’s a big number."

*Parker finished with a season-high seven catches for a team-high 103 yards and one touchdown.

*Tomlinson has scored a rushing touchdown in 12 consecutive games this season for the NFL single-season record. The overall NFL record is 13. He finished the game with 81 yards on 21 carries, as well as five catches for 95 yards and a touchdown. His 176 net yards accounted for 47 percent of the Chargers’ total offense.

*Linebacker Steve Foley tied his career high with a game-high three sacks. He has a team-leading 10 sacks this season. Schottenheimer was pleased with the pressure the Chargers put on Manning, who has been sacked only 13 times this season. In the game, Manning fumbled twice.

"We went into the game, and I told our players, ‘You probably won’t sack (Manning) because he’s going to get the ball out of his hand, but we need to get around him so maybe the throws will be errant,'" Schottenheimer said. "We sacked him four times. That’s virtually 50 percent of what he’s been sacked in the course of the previous 14 games."

*The fans observed a moment of silence prior to the singing of the national anthem to honor Reggie White, one of the NFL’s all-time leaders in sacks, who passed away Sunday morning in North Carolina.

*Cornerback Robb Butler went into the locker room in the first half with a toe injury, but he returned to the game later.

*The last time the Bolts played Indianapolis in a regular-season game was on Sept. 26, 1999 at Qualcomm Stadium. They won’t have to wait as long to face the Colts this time. The Chargers are scheduled to play at Indianapolis next season, though the date hasn’t been determined, and they could face each other in the playoffs this year.