In a season full of adversity, the San Diego Chargers faced another challenge in their AFC divisional playoff game at Indianapolis on Sunday.
Starting the year at 1-3 with a new coach after losing in the second round of the playoffs to New England last season, and then left bewildered by a 5-5 record, the Chargers climbed back to win the AFC West and their first-round playoff game against Tennessee.
But on Sunday, they lost NFL rushing leader LaDainian Tomlinson to a bruised left knee in the second quarter and quarterback Philip Rivers in the third quarter with an injured right knee. However, the Chargers were still able to pull out a 28-24 upset over the defending Super Bowl champions and win their eighth straight game.
The Chargers (13-5) will play at New England (17-0) on Sunday at 12 p.m. in the AFC Championship game for the right to advance against either the New York Giants or Green Bay in the Super Bowl.
Without Tomlinson, San Diego turned to Michael Turner, who gained 71 yards on 17 carries, and without Rivers, to Billy Volek. Volek went 3 of 4 for 48 yards passing on an eight-play, 78-yard drive that ended on his 1-yard sneak with 4:50 left to play to give the Chargers the lead.
“I never doubted myself,” Volek said. “I just had to go out there and do my role.”
From there, the Chargers held the Colts scoreless after an Indianapolis drive started first-and-goal on San Diego’s 9, and on a desperate possession that ended on an incompletion in Colts territory.
“That’s the true measure of a team,” Tomlinson said. “Guys stepped up and got it done.”
Rivers passed for 264 yards and three TDs, including a 56-yard screen pass to Darren Sproles, in for Tomlinson, at the end of the third quarter for a 21-17 lead.
Rivers injured his knee by landing awkwardly after the throw.
The Chargers defense allowed Colts quarterback Peyton Manning to throw for 402 yards and three touchdowns but came up with the big plays when it needed to.
They picked off Manning twice in the red zone, one before halftime by Antonio Cromartie at the 11, the other by Eric Weddle at the 4 in the third quarter. Linebacker Shawne Merriman hurried Manning into an incomplete pass on fourth down from the Chargers 7 late in the fourth, and the Colts were unable to get a first down after getting the ball back with 1:30 to play.
The win dispelled the notion that the Chargers get soft in the big games.
“There’s a mind-set in our league that our guys kind of play good and are front-runners, but when the going gets tough or they play a good team, they don’t rise to the occasion,” Chargers coach Norv Turner said.
“I think we’ve put that thing to rest. I told them in the locker room I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve never been around a more gutsy performance by a team,” he said.
The Chargers are banged up, including Antonio Gates’ dislocated toe, and might need another gritty performance in Foxborough against the Patriots. Rivers and Tomlinson were listed as questionable earlier this week for the game. Rivers has a strained right medial collateral ligament in his right knee, to go with a tender left knee that he sprained in a game at Tennessee on Dec. 9. Tomlinson has a hyperextended left knee.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to play,” Tomlinson said on Monday. “It’s just a great opportunity to get a chance to play against possibly the greatest team to ever play.”
Rivers was to be held out of practice for most of the week.
“I’m concerned,” Turner said. “We’re getting ready to play the best team in the National Football League. We need to rally the troops and get everyone as healthy as we can be. We want to be at our best. I hope we haven’t played our best game yet. That’s what we’re trying to get done this week.”
The last time: It’s been 13 years since San Diego’s last AFC Championship game. The Chargers were a heavy underdog in that contest at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh on Jan. 15, 1995, and trailed 13-3 in the third quarter. But Bolts quarterback Stan Humphries found Alfred Pupunu on a 43-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and hit Tony Martin for a 43-yard score with 5:13 left to play in the game.
Linebacker Dennis Gibson tipped Steelers quarterback Neil O’Donnell’s pass on fourth down from the Chargers 3 to seal the 17-13 win. The Chargers went on to lose 49-26 to San Francisco in the Super Bowl.
Giants top Cowboys: The New York Giants (12-6) won their ninth consecutive road game, 28-24 in an NFC divisional matchup in Dallas on Sunday.
“No one’s given us much credit and probably still won’t,” quarterback Eli Manning said. “But that’s OK. We like it that way.”
Dallas lost a record-tying sixth straight playoff game.
Grant’s redemption: Green Bay’s Ryan Grant lost two fumbles early and the Seattle Seahawks capitalized by scoring 14 points. But he turned things around by rushing for a team postseason record 201 yards and three touchdowns in the Packers’ 42-20 rout.
“I was frustrated, disappointed,” Grant said. “I appreciate everyone sticking with it, staying with me.”
Brady nearly perfect: Tom Brady went 26 of 28 for 262 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions as the Patriots defeated Jacksonville 31-20. Brady’s completion percentage of 92.9 broke Phil Simms’ postseason record of 88.0 in Super Bowl XXI.
Divisional Playoff Leaders:
“¢ Passing: Peyton Manning, Colts, 33-48, 402 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs.
“¢ Rushing: Ryan Grant, Packers, 27 carries, 201 yards, 3 TDs.
“¢ Receiving: Dallas Clark, Colts, 6 catches, 95 yards, 1 TD.
“¢ Solo Tackles: Stephen Cooper, Chargers, 15.
“¢ Sacks: Cullen Jenkins,
Packers, 1.5.
“¢ Interceptions: Rodney Harrison, Patriots; Antonio Cromartie, Chargers; Eric Weddle, Chargers; Kelvin Hayden, Colts; R.W. McQuarters, Giants, 1 each.
Quotable: “Seventeen have tried and it hasn’t happened. We think it can happen.”
” Chargers QB Philip Rivers on his team’s chances of beating the unbeaten Patriots in the AFC title game.