With thoughts of last year’s collapse in the AFC playoffs against the New England Patriots fresh in their heads, San Diego Charger fans may have thought they were once again in for a long off-season last Sunday at the Q.
The Chargers, however, had other plans in store for their fans and the Tennessee Titans.
Trailing 6-0, the Chargers used a pair of second-half touchdowns to eliminate the Titans 17-6 in an AFC Wild Card matchup, setting up a showdown in Indianapolis with the Colts Sunday, Jan. 13 (10 a.m. PST). In doing so, San Diego ended a 13-year playoff victory drought.
In what could easily be described as a lackluster first half offensively, both teams needed to put some points on the board in the second half to secure the win.
It was a decision late in the first half, however, that may have come back to haunt the boys from Nashville.
Tennessee drove into San Diego territory just before halftime and still had a timeout to play with.
With the ball inside the Chargers’ 30, the Titans decided to run the clock down to :03 and kick a 44-yard field goal instead of taking a shot or two at the end zone. A potential 10-0 halftime lead would have looked more secure than just a 6-0 advantage going into intermission.
The Titans, who had to win their regular season finale just to make the playoffs, also fumbled away a potential score early in the second quarter when Chris Brown coughed up the ball inside the red zone and San Diego’s Shaun Phillips recovered it.
It may not have mattered, though, as the Chargers awoke in the second half to run off 17 straight points.
While star back LaDainian Tomlinson had some impressive runs, the Tennessee ‘D’ did a good job for the most part of keeping him in check for the afternoon. In the end, Tomlinson walked away with his first post-season victory.
“It didn’t come easy, but I tell you, I’m just happy to get that first one,” Tomlinson said.
It was through the air that San Diego (12-5) moved into the lead, onto the next round and a rematch (23-21 regular season victory) with the Colts.
After cutting the deficit to 6-3 on a 21-yard Nate Kaeding field goal with 9:41 left in the third quarter, QB Philip Rivers (19-of-30, 292 yards) hit Vincent Jackson late in the stanza on a 25-yard scoring strike to give the Chargers a 10-6 advantage.
Tomlinson, who was held to 42 yards rushing on the soggy afternoon, added the insurance score with 8:45 remaining in the game on a fourth and goal leap from the 1-yard line.
Tennessee (10-7), which had won a challenge on the previous play that Tomlinson was short of the goal line, lost its case on the TD run when the challenge was not upheld that LT didn’t break the goal line.
Tennessee’s Vince Young finished the day with 138 yards passing on 16-of-29 and one interception. While having opportunities to pass and scramble early on, the San Diego defense tightened the screws on Young as the game went along, making life more difficult for the second-year QB out of Texas.
FIFTH QUARTER: San Diego wide receiver Chris Chambers had a good day, catching six balls for 121 yards. All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates left the field on a cart with a sprained left toe injury. He is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game at Indianapolis. In the Chargers’ win earlier this season over the Colts, QB Peyton Manning tossed a career-high six interceptions.
The other AFC matchup has Jacksonville at top-seeded New England on Saturday evening. The winners will meet the following weekend in the AFC Championship game. San Diego could still get one more game at home. If the Chargers knock off Indianapolis and Jacksonville upsets the Patriots, San Diego would host the title game for a trip to Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz. on Feb. 3.