Chargers set to host Colts in AFC Wild Card

After knocking off the Denver Broncos to finish the season 8-8 and win the AFC West division title, the Chargers will head into the playoffs as one of the NFL’s hottest teams. San Diego rallied from a 4-8 start to win four straight games. They are playing their best football of the year, but they won’t be the only red hot team in Qualcomm Stadium this weekend. The Colts, San Diego’s opponent for the AFC Wild Card game, have won nine straight and finished the season with a mark of 12-4.

The Chargers should be proud of the way they played down the stretch and of being able to make the post season. However, they may be a bit over matched in the wild card game. Even though they’re playing at home they are considered the underdog and with good reason. The Colts have been playing lights out football, winning the tight ones as well as blowing teams out. They’ll be coming off a win against Tennessee in which they shut out the AFC’s top team 23-0. And of course Indianapolis will be bringing this years MVP Peyton Manning with them.

Manning won the MVP award in a landslide and has now won the NFL’s most prestigious regular season award three times. Manning has said that this season has been the most satisfying of his career and much of that has to do with where the Colts were early in the season. The Colts got off to a poor start at 3-4 and many were questioning Manning’s ability, especially since he was coming off two knee surgeries. But Manning improved with each passing week and lead his team back into playoff contention. He finished the year with a passer rating of 95.0, 4002 yards passing, and 27 touchdowns.

The Chargers will have to pay great attention to Manning on Saturday night. Throughout the year their pass defense was one of the worst in the league and their pass rush wasn’t much better. During the last month of the season, however, there were signs of improvement, or at least the ability to make key plays at the right time. Two weeks ago they pressured Jeff Garcia consistently, sacking him several times and intercepting two of his passes late in the game. One of the interceptions was returned for a touchdown. Last week San Diego had similar success against Jay Cutler. The Chargers will need to get in Manning’s face as well and make him uncomfortable in the pocket. Otherwise, it could be a long night.

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Up until a few weeks ago the Chargers strategy for winning games had been to try to put up as many points as possible in order to outscore their opponent. They were successful on a number of occasions and now with their defense playing better the offense will try to continue that trend. Phillip Rivers had the best year of his career. He lead the league in passer rating at 105.5 and threw for over 4000 yards and 34 touchdowns. Unlike Rivers, Ladainian Tomlinson struggled this year, especially with injuries and is still nicked up. But Tomlinson has played better recently like most of his teammates and could be a force in the Colts game.

Neither the Colts nor the Chargers are strangers to the postseason or to each other. Indianapolis has made the playoffs seven straight years and won a Superbowl during that span. For the Chargers it’s their third division title in a row and they’ve made the post season in four of the last five years. The two teams met in the divisional round last year when the Chargers went in to the then defending champions home and beat them. They’ve also met in each of the last two regular seasons. San Diego won the regular season game last year, but the Colts got some revenge with a victory at Qualcomm this year when Adam Vinatieri made a field goal late in the game.

The wild card game should be entertaining, a match up of two playoff tested veteran teams. If the Chargers win they’ll have to wait to see the results of the other AFC wild card game to determine who they will play in the next round. It would either be the Steelers or the Titans. But right now all their focus is on somehow defeating the Colts and the NFL’s MVP.

By Steven Mondelli
ProFootball-fans.com San Diego Chargers Correspondent