Colts-Chargers: Indy Trips Over Its Own Feet

Momentum makes the difference. It's the main reason why two offensive superpowers can combine for 378 yards by halftime and yet only muster 17 total points in that span. It's also why three passing play turnovers can render more than 400 aerial yards useless, as happened to Indianapolis in its season-ending game. Losing the ball was bad enough, but the inability to overcome devastating obstacles hindered the Colts more than anything else as they fell at home to the San Diego Chargers in the division playoffs.

Most notably, one could almost visualize rust chips flying off Marvin Harrison's jersey when he fumbled away the football after he got hit following his first reception in eons. The game swung from possibly a 14-point first-quarter lead for the Colts if they had continued marching to a tie when the Chargers drove 78 yards over 10 plays for a touchdown on the ensuing possession, as Harrison's lack of game contact led to harsh consequences.

Manning also saw two passes that should have been completions turn into interceptions as they glanced off the respective receivers' hands, the most glaring mistakes of the day. But, more importantly, a series of unnecessary penalties committed by Indianapolis led to this team effectively shackling itself.

There was Bob Sanders, blessed with better innate football sense than perhaps anyone else in the game, making an innately foolish move by patting kicker Nate Kaeding on the helmet in a gratuitous mocking gesture after a missed field goal; that penalty set his offense back to its own 24 with 106 seconds left in the half. That extra distance was certainly a factor as his team's counterparts had to press in order to cover the extra ground. It indirectly set up a situation where Manning was throwing deep on a play that started at San Diego's 35 with only 25 seconds left, a pass that resulted in one of the interceptions.

Further, Ryan Diem's hit to the head of the pass rusher he was facing on the fourth quarter's opening drive cost his team 15 yards. Even though a defensive holding penalty on the next play gave them a new start, their own foul had already halted any chance at progress.

In addition, cornerback Marlin Jackson's facemask grab later in the final period may as well have tilted the field as perpetual backup Billy Volek led his team on their second 78-yard touchdown drive of the afternoon. The penalty yardage moved the Chargers past midfield instead of the play resulting in an incompletion leading to a fourth down, a brutal cocktail that made the Colts' defense too woozy to continue efficiently.

Those in attendance tried to help. The eerie silence of a full stadium when the Colts have the ball is a remarkable contrast to the Ted-Nugent-concert-next-to-an-airport-runway level of noise RCA Dome fans generate while their team is on defense. The problem was that Philip Rivers maintained his composure when he actually managed to call for the snap without letting the play clock reach zeros or one of his linemen flinching, winging passes for completions into soft areas of Indianapolis' zone. For example, his strike to Vincent Jackson for his side's first touchdown on what looked like a hectic scramble was a sharp throw under duress where he kept his head level.

His receivers helped, too: Later, on the Chargers' touchdown early in the third quarter, Indianapolis defender Tim Jennings bought Chris Chambers' juke on his pass route, and Antoine Bethea didn't get over in time to compensate for the error as the wideout made his way for a score. A pass defense based on safeties bailing out tight-covering corners doesn't work if the man in zone reacts too slowly, and the result was a 14-10 lead for the visitors to start the second half.

While the Chargers lost their starting quarterback and all-galaxy running back over the game's course, the important factor is that none of their offensive linemen were injured, and they controlled the trenches. The blockers gave their second-string quarterback time to throw and change-of-pace runner turned temporary primary back Michael Turner time to find holes on his way to 71 yards over only 17 attempts. San Diego's sturdy line deserves a large amount of credit, something its solid yet excessively yappy starting quarterback should remember before talking trash to any opponent or fan.

The same should go for their defense, as the Chargers play less smash-mouth and more loudmouth, bragging and dancing after nearly every single tackle for loss or no gain. Worst for them, that kind of behavior minimizes their actual accomplishments, as when Shawne Merriman swung past Tony Ugoh to pressure Manning into a fourth-down incompletion just before the two-minute warning. The Colts also only managed a scant 44 yards rushing for the game; that number can stand on its own.

Indianapolis' stumbles made things easier for its adversary, too. Dallas Clark's inability to hang onto a fourth-and-5 pass on the next series ended the Colts' final drive of the season, as they turned it over on downs for the second straight time. It was one of a few mistakes made by the Colts, but that was all it took to decelerate this team. A potentially colossal face-off between the two most dominant AFC franchises this decade will not take place, as the Chargers made their way to New England by exploiting every slip their opponent committed.