Sproles' Chargers Shock Manning's Colts With Stunning Overtime Victory

What a game.

Once again, LaDainian Tomlinson watched his team play in the playoffs from the bench. But this time, he watched them win.

In a shocking (to me anyway) upset, the San Diego Chargers knocked off the Indianapolis Colts in overtime, 23-17.

This game had a little of everything.

It had great defense. It had great quarterback play. It had crucial turnovers. It had two minute offenses. It had big kicks. It had great catches.

As a fan of the NFL, it was a joy to watch.

What can you say about Darren Sproles? The man was everything LaDainian Tomlinson usually is, and then some.

Sproles finished the game with 105 yards rushing, 45 yards receiving, and two rushing touchdowns. He was a beast. The smallest guy on the field had the biggest day.

Philip Rivers was as good as he needed to be.

At times, he tried to force some balls into some places he shouldn’t have. The interception he threw late could have been a killer. But he just kept throwing the ball to Antonio Gates and handing it to Sproles, and his play-makers made plays.

Peyton Manning played another tremendous game, but his efforts weren’t enough. The Colts’ running game was bad all season long. Saturday was no exception.

It’s hard to fathom how bad their running backs must be. Teams have to focus on the passing game. You rarely see more than seven men in the box against the Colts.

And yet they’re awful running the ball.

The Chargers’ kicking game probably won the game for them.

Nate Kaeding redeemed some of his past playoff failures by making the game tying kick in the fourth quarter. Mike Scifres might have been the game’s most valuable player, pinning the Colts deep all game long.

If the Chargers had lost this game, it would have been time to start thinking hard about trading LaDainian Tomlinson. For the second season in a row, he hasn’t been durable enough to make it into the playoffs.

But that question can wait at least one more week.

The Chargers will play Tennessee or Pittsburgh next week. Both of those teams are beatable, especially if the Chargers play like they did today.

The officiating crew was terrible. For parts of the game, I was wondering if the NFL had something against the Chargers. Then, come overtime, the officials seemed to throw a flag on every play.

But every penalty was against the Colts. And rightfully so, as all were good calls.

If history repeats itself, and it probably will, the NFL will change the overtime rules. Whenever a rule negatively impacts the Colts, the NFL changes it.

Maybe they’ll outlaw face-mask penalties in overtime.

If this was Tony Dungy’s last game as an NFL head coach, he’ll go down as one of the best. He’s a class act. He’s been out-coached in big games a few times in his career, but when it comes down to it there are very few coaches I’d rather have running my team’s sidelines.

I can’t stress enough how enjoyable this game was to watch. I started the game rooting for the Colts (because I’m shallow, and I picked them to win). I ended the game rooting for the Chargers.

Gotta love a home-underdog.

Sunday’s games have a lot to live up to. Two home-underdogs played today, and both won. Two more home-underdogs play tomorrow.

Sean Crowe covers the Patriots-Examiner">New England Patriots for Examiner.com and writes a bi-weekly column for Sports-Central.org.

He is a Senior Writer and an NFL Community Leader at Bleacher Report. You can email him at [e-mail]. His archive can be found here.