Sunday, January 4, 2009

Colts Lose To Chargers In Overtime


The San Diego Chargers defeated the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 in overtime and eliminated the Colts from the playoffs for a second straight year. This time the game was in San Diego, and the Chargers continued their momentum from their last four regular season wins, including winning the last one to win the AFC West division. The Colts were also on a hot streak, winning their last nine regular season games.


Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning was good, going 25 of 42 for 310 yards and a touchdown. The Colts running game, however, was non-existent as it has been all season. Running back Joseph Addai only had 44 yards and Dominic Rhodes had only 12 yards. Chargers' quarterback Philip Rivers wasn't equally as effective as Manning, but did a good job. He was 20 of 36 for 217 yards and an interception.


Chargers' running back Darren Sproles was very effective. He ran for 105 yards on 22 carries, including the game winning run in overtime. LaDainian Tomlinson only had 5 carries for 25 yards, as he was bothered by a groin injury. The Chargers signed running back Michael Bennett because they thought they would be thin at the position with Tomlinson's injury.


The Chargers benefited from playing at home. With an 8-8 record, they should've been the road team. The Colts finished at 12-4 for no reason. They don't even get a home game. The Colts, however, needed to win that game to prove themselves legit and they failed to the Chargers again. This does not prove the Chargers are better. This game proves that the Colts are failures and the playoff system needs to change to allow the team with the better record to have home-field advantage.

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