All week long, few gave the Chargers a chance. Indy’s defense was just too good. Peyton Manning would pick apart the Chargers secondary. As the game progressed, Charger fans looked at their offense and found no LaDainian Tomlinson. No Philip Rivers. Still no Lorenzo Neal. A hobbled Antonio Gates playing at half-speed through an obviously painful toe injury. All against one of the quickest defenses in the NFL, and a legendary offense plotting its inevitable win on the opposite sideline.So how do the Chargers own the pleasure of playing at Foxboro next week? The team sucked it up, played its young heart out, and overcame adversity by playing tough,gritty football. Despite a horrendous holding call negating an Antonio Cromartie interception for a touchdown, along with phantom pass interference calls, the Chargers did all they could to foil the NFL money machine’s dream repeat matchup of Manning vs. Brady for the AFC championship game. After Chargers backups derailed that plan, does anyone think the NFL offices may be greedily coveting a Brady vs. Favre Super Bowl?
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His continued jawing at opposing fans aside, Philip Rivers showed guts in Indy before he went down on a 53-yard screen pass touchdown to Darren Sproles. With the game on the line and the NFL leading rusher watching in frustration from the bench, the playoffs fell on the shoulders of Billy Volek, Michael Turner, and the worn down Chargers defense. The subs responded with poise and composure, the journeyman Volek completing a clutch pass when needed and engineering a clock-chewing drive downfield. Turner, the backup out of Northern Illinois, sealed his starting job with some future fortunate team. The offensive line gave all it could and dominated the line of scrimmage at the end of the brutal game. The defense got the ball back to Volek on downs twice.
Why does all this matter? The Bolts showed that with good conditioning, hard work and the right attitude, a team could win without flashy players on big payrolls. While the banged up Chargers limp into Foxborough, it seems unlikely that they have much of a chance against the Patriots juggernaut. If the team can show the kind of heart it showed in the RCA Dome,perhaps it may overcome adversity once again. This kind of spirit is what truly makes the NFL playoffs great.
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